Teenaged girl killed by stray bullet in Brazil

Rio de Janeiro: A 16-year-old girl was killed apparently by a stray bullet in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, according to media reports on Friday.

The girl was killed by a shot in the back on Thursday in the city's Jacarepagua neighbourhood where the Nelson Piquet International Raceway is located, according to police officials cited by the Rio daily O Globo.

Two cars riddled with bullet holes were found near the death scene, though the authorities have not yet confirmed their connection with Thursday night's killing.

Deaths from stray bullets in Rio de Janeiro caught the public's attention again last week when a 10-year-old boy was killed in the crossfire of a police operation in the Alemao Complex, a group of shantytowns in northern Rio de Janeiro.

The death of young Eduardo de Jesus Ferreira became a symbol in protests against police violence in the poor districts of Rio de Janeiro.

According to the boy's mother, her son was shot by a member of the militarised police, who mistook his mobile phone for a gun.

Some witnesses said that the agents were already shooting when they broke into the community, though the leaders of the police operation said that they were met with gunshots from drug traffickers in the shantytown.

Last Sunday, after two days of protests, about 50 demonstrators dressed in black, carrying a coffin and waving posters with anti-violence messages, marched around the low-income Copacabana neighbourhood to protest police actions in the Alemao Complex, which for decades has been a stronghold of drug traffickers.