A Brazilian
radio presenter was shot and killed by two masked attackers while he
still on the air, in the southern state of Parana, police reports.
Joao
Valdecir de Borba, 52, was killed at Radio Difusora AM in Sao Jorge do
Oeste, in Parana near the border with Argentina, on Thursday evening.
Mr
Valdecir de Borba previously worked as a crime reporter for nearly ten
years, but switched to presenting music-led programmes five months ago
after receiving death threats.
Police
in Sao Jorge do Oeste are hunting two unidentified assailants, who
reportedly shot and killed the father-of-two during a music interlude.
There were conflicting reports yesterday about the circumstances leading to the murder of the father-of-two.
The killers, who are still on the run, fled the scene in a dark-coloured Fiat Strada.
JoaMr
Valdecir de Borba, who had worked for Radio Difusora AM for ten years
and was married with two children, died as he was rushed critically
injured to hospital.
Police are hunting two unidentified
assailants, who reportedly shot and killed the father-of-two during a
music interlude, while he was still on air (stock image)
Mrs
Conter said: 'We cannot comprehend this brutal crime. Joao was a good
person who was always caring with his colleagues. We are all
devastated.'
The
Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Presenters revealed in
February eight journalists had been shot dead in Brazil last year,
making it the fifth most dangerous country in the world for reporters.
Its report detailed 116 cases last year where journalists had been targeted through threats, vandalism, assaults or murders.
Last
August Brazilian radio presenter Gleydson Carvalho was slain by two
gunmen who burst into his studio during his regular midday slot on Radio
Liberdade FM in Camocim, a beach resort in the north-eastern state of
Ceara.
They
overpowered a receptionist before forcing their way into Carvalho's
recording studio and ordering his sound engineer to take cover under a
table.
They
then shot the radio presenter, known as a staunch critic of government
corruption, three times - once in the head and twice in the chest.
Another
radio employee announced the programme presenter had been shot and was
receiving medical attention before it continued with music.
Carvalho was known locally for his attacks on local government corruption.
Friend Autran Santos said he would often receive threats live on air.
He said at the time of the murder: 'He spoke to me constantly about the threats but said he wasn't afraid.
'The most serious threats he received were to do with politics. He said he had enemies because of the accusations he made.'
Last September a radio journalist was shot dead as she arrived for work in Pitalito, Huila, south west Colombia.
Shocking
footage released after Flor Alba Nunez Vargas was killed, showed a
hired assassin in a crash helmet creeping up behind her and ending her
life with a single shot to the head.
The
25-year-old had received death threats on Facebook over her election
coverage and the picture of a criminal gang blamed for a town hall
break-in which she published.
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