A man using a power drill on his balcony in a Rio de Janeiro slum was shot dead by police who mistook his handyman tool for an Uzi submachine gun.
"It'd be funny if they thought I was waving a gun around," were the last words of Helio Ribeiro to his wife, local media said, as he spotted a police unit close by looking for drug gang members in the tense neighbourhood.
Moments later a police sniper's bullet turned his joke into fatal reality, piercing the supermarket manager's left arm and lung.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
The officer involved has been charged with involuntary homicide, and the state security secretariat has issued a statement lamenting the death of Ribeiro and promising compensation to his widow.
Police, though, summoned reporters to see photos showing similarities in the shape of the drill used and an Uzi.
Armed clashes between drug dealers and police are common in Rio's largely lawless slums, resulting in hundreds of deaths per year.
