Thapelo Lekabe

By Thapelo Lekabe

Senior Digital Journalist


Fake news: Bedfordview restaurant shooting video actually from Brazil

Two people were killed in the incident, including a civil police commissioner. The suspect was also injured and is in the hospital under police guard.


A video that went viral on social media this week of a deadly restaurant shooting thought to have occurred in Bedfordview, Johannesburg has since been confirmed to have happened in Brazil on Sunday.

According to Brazilian media outlet Globo.com, the police reported a restaurant shooting on Sunday, 17 May 2021, in the city of Jaboticaba, the north region of Rio Grande do Sul.

Two people were killed in the incident, including a civil police commissioner.

The suspect who fired the shots was also injured and is in the hospital under police guard.

Police officer Gustavo Fleury told Globo the motive for the shooting was unclear and police were investigating.

Fallout led to deadly shooting

However, several witnesses said the shooting was sparked by an argument between the suspect and the first victim – identified as José Antônio Rocha Monteiro – at the restaurant.

“He [ the suspect] had been at the bar since early yesterday afternoon [Sunday], and at some point, he would have, according to information that some witnesses told us, disagreed with the first victim, inside the bar”, Fleury was quoted as saying.

The suspect apparently left the restaurant and returned later to find civil police commissioner Fabiano Ribeiro Menezes who was also inside the restaurant.

“He later returned to the establishment, and when he returned, policeman Fabiano was inside the premises, had arrived a few moments ago, was close to the cashier, and this individual went directly to the boy he had fallen out with moments before.

“According to witnesses he [the suspect] went so far as to say ‘don’t get up’ and he [the victim] ended up getting up. And as soon as he got up, the guy drew his revolver and shot the victim at close range in the face”.

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