Ketellen Umbelino de Oliveira Gomes, a 5-year-old girl was struck and killed by stray bullet, Wednesday morning in Rio de Janeiro.
Oliveira Gomes was the 6th child in the city to have died by stray bullet this year after.
Oliveira Gomes was walking to school with her mother on Tuesday when she was shot in the leg in the Realengo district of western Rio de Janeiro, according to police officials and witnesses.
Preliminary investigation revealed she was caught in the crossfire of one of the gun battles waged routinely in the city by drug trafficking gangs vying for control of neighborhoods.
Oliveira Gomes mother rushed her to a nearby clinic, Ketellen reportedly tried to comfort her.
“Even as she lay on the floor, she said: ‘Mom, don’t cry, don’t, Mom,’” a relative, Daise da Costa, told reporters.