Marielle Franco, the Brazilian political powerhouse was assassinated on Wednesday night in Rio. Marielle was a radical anti-police brutality activist and a champion for many Black Brazilians. Rest in power, Marielle. #SayHerName pic.twitter.com/K7YLc6sJUw — Black Girl Culture (@blkgirlculture) March 16, 2018 Marielle Franco Murdered The people of Brazil are reeling from the death of a prominent black councilwoman. Marielle Franco was shot 7 times, 3 in the head, in Brazil Wednesday just hours after a rally she organized where she urged for better treatment of black women. Police believe that two armed men sprayed bullets into Franco’s car and sped off. Her driver Anderson Pedro Gomes, was also killed and a press officer sitting next to Franco in the back seat was injured. The Los Angeles Times reports that Civil Police Chief Rivaldo Barbosa declined to release details of the shooting and said no motive for the attack has been established. Franco, a member of the leftist Socialism and Liberty Party, was known for being an outspoken activist against police violence in the city’s slums and she was also in charge of investigating the military intervention in Rio de Janeiro. Fabio Vieira/FotoRua/NurPhoto via Getty Images She previously won the fifth-highest vote count of any city councilor when she was elected in 2016 so as you can imagine her death has shaken her supporters to their core. Protests are currently ongoing as the public pleads with police to bring her murderers to justice and for the violence to stop. Over ten thousand people march through Sao Paulo demanding an end to violence after the assassination of Rio's councilwoman Marielle Franco https://t.co/N6Twh6splt pic.twitter.com/F1eH858iJh — AFP news agency (@AFP) March 16, 2018 R.I.P. Marielle Franco.
