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A Brazilian mom has been celebrated as a hero for shooting an armed robber outside a school in São Paulo.
Katia da Silva Sastre (42), a mom of two and off-duty policeman, was among the children and parents waiting in front of private school College Ferreira Master for a Mother’s Day lunch to start, when a man in a dark hoodie approached the group.
CCTV footage shows the man – later identified as 21-year-old Elivelton Neves Moreira – pulling out a revolver and aiming it at the group of mothers and young kids, demanding the school’s security guard hand over his wallet and cell phone.
The group scatters but Katia, dressed in a pink t-shirt and jeans, steps forward, pulling her gun for her bag.
Before the gunman can react she fires three shots – the first shot is at close range and Moreira falls on his back, clutching his chest. Katia then jumps behind a car and shoots two more shots from there.
Once she’s sure he’s down, Katya disarms him by kicking his gun away and grabbing it. She then turns him over and subdues him with her foot on backside while waiting for the police to arrive.
Moreira died later in hospital, Daily Mail reports.
WARNING: SOME VIEWERS MIGHT FIND THE VIDEO UPSETTING
“I didn't know if he was going to shoot the kids or the mothers or the security guard at the school door. I just thought about defending the mums, the children, my own life and my daughter’s,” Katia said afterwards, according to News.com.au.
Katia, who has two daughters aged two and seven, is married to a police lieutenant, André Alves.
São Paulo Governor Márcio França praised Katia for her bravery, tweeting: “I went earlier to the 4th BAEP in the east of São Paulo to honour a very special mother: Corporal Katia Sastre.”
“Her courage and precision saved mothers and children yesterday at the door of a school.”
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, news.com.au, istoe.com.br
