Nov 7, 2011

Soccer Hooligans Slay 17-Year-Old Girl

Soccer Hooligans Slay 17-Year-Old Girl

Police say boyfriend was target of gunmen

GOIANIA, Goias – Senseless soccer violence claimed the life of 17-year-old student Pamella Munike Valpato who was shot in the head on Sunday night, in the Vila Maua neighborhood of Goiania. Police said that the target of the shooting was the boyfriend of the victim who, minutes before the crime, had been involved in a fight between supporters of rival teams Goias and Vila Nova. The boyfriend was not hit.

Pamella Munike Valpato killed by soccer fans in Goiania Sunday 06 November 2011

Pamela Munike Valpato (Photo: G1 Goias)

According to police, the girl was returning home on foot from a party put on by a social networking site in the company of her boyfriend and two cousins, when they were approached by two men on a motorcycle. The passenger shot the girl and the bikers fled without a trace.

Police spokesman Emane Oliveira Cazar, said the shooter is part of a fan club. “We have concrete information on the killer. The Civil Police (PC) is making efforts to locate the man and arrest him as soon as possible. The information we have is that he is a fan of Vila Nova and is a member of the team's fan club, Colorado Sangue.”

According to friends of the victim's boyfriend, Pamella had been photographed at a soccer game between Goias and Vila Nova, on Friday night, close to a coffin that Goias fans carried to the stadium. The coffin symbolized the impending defeat of the Colorado team and it had the initials of Vila Nova fans who had been killed written on it.

“They took a photo and Pamella and her boyfriend were near the coffin. They saw this picture and they decided to kill some people,” says a friend of the victim, who declined to be identified.

According to Walter Goncalves Pereira, father of the victim, his daughter had been threatened with death by a fan of Vila Nova in the school she attended. “He was a supporter of Vila Nova and she was a supporter of Goias and he said he would kill her,” said the father.

Wesley Franca Martin, the principal at the school she attended that he knew of the threats and necessary measures were adopted. “We called a staff meeting and we investigated the threat. The boys said that nothing was going to happen. There is no way the murder can be confirmed a result of this threat. This needs to be investigated,” he says.

“I feel anger and sadness. I lost my daughter, the person I loved most in the world because of soccer. It hurts a lot,” said Pamella's father.

Team Goias defeated Vila Nova 3-2 at the Serra Dourado Stadium Friday night in Series B of the Brazilian Championship.

Pamella was buried today.

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Brazilian online news source for this article: G1 Goias

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