Deadly violence mars Rio's Carnival

The climax of Rio's famed Carnival yesterday was overshadowed by a series of violent incidents that left two people dead – one of them a murdered girl – and raised questions over security in the city that is to host the 2016 Olympics.

Brazilian media reported that the bloody, half-naked body of the girl, aged around 10 years, was found late on Sunday in bushes near her home in central Rio.

According to the police, she had been dressed in a Carnival party outfit, her face was injured, and she showed signs of rape.

The same day, an off-duty Brazilian policeman was arrested for shooting dead a fellow off-duty officer in a Carnival party, sparking panic among revelers in a club in the capital.

The G1 news website quoted investigators saying the two had a dispute and the officer who shot his colleague four times claimed he had acted in self-defence. Officials investigation has yet to reach a conclusion.

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