BRASÍLIA (AFP) – Brazilian authorities were investigating on Sunday the death of an Indigenous man who they say was shot by miners illegally encroaching on territory belonging to the Yanomami people.
The incident, which occurred on Saturday in the northern state of Roraima, also left two people injured, according to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI).
“With much regret, we learnt of the gun attack by illegal miners on three Indigenous Yanomami,” the ministry said on its official Instagram page.
“One dead and two others receiving attention, in critical condition,” the statement said.
The federal police, which are investigating the attack, confirmed that “Indigenous people confronted and exchanged fire with miners”, with three Yanomami people shot, one fatally.
According to the G1 news outlet, the person who died was a 36-year-old man who had been shot in the head.
“Two Federal Police teams travelled to the scene, in the Indigenous community of Uxiu, early on Sunday morning to investigate what happened and to prevent any further potential hostilities,” the force said in a statement.
