By Isabela Fraga
Brazilian radio host Edmilson de Souza was shot to death inside the studio where he worked in the city of Itabaiana, Sergipe, on the evening of Sunday, Oct. 28, reported the website Sou de Sergipe.
Known as "Edmilson dos Cachinhos," the radio host was alone at the Princesa da Serra FM station when a man entered the studio, argued with the reporter and fired three shots at him, reported the website Esplanada News.
It is possible that the suspect was known to the reporter, since there was no sign of forced entry on the station's door, reported the newspaper Diário do Estado. Police also suspect that there was a physical altercation between the reporter and the gunman before the shots were fired.
According to the sister of the reporter, Eliana de Jesus, Edmilson's nephew called the station around 11:30 p.m. to request a song but was threaten by an unknown man who "said he was dead and hung up," reported the website G1. The Edmilson's sister said that the reporter had no enemies and never mentioned any threats, according to the newspaper Tribuna Hoje. The crime is being investigated by the Homicide Division.
Edmilson de Souza is the ninth journalist killed this year in Brazil. Cases like this led the International News Safety Institute to list Brazil as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Souza's killing follows the cases of Luis Henrique Georges, Laércio de Souza, Mario Randolfo Marques Lopes, Paulo Roberto Cardoso Rodrigues, Onei de Moura, Divino Aparecido Caravalho, Décio Sá, and Valério Luiz de Oliveira. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 75 percent of attacks on journalists go unpunished in Brazil.
CPJ reported that during 2012 more journalists were killed because of their work in Brazil than any other country in the Americas.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
