A 30-year-old woman was shot and killed inside her home on the night of Thursday, June 2, in the Zumbi neighborhood of Recife's West Zone.
The victim, identified as Steffanie Mayara Batista dos Santos, was taken by surprise by armed assailants while breastfeeding one of her children. The crime occurred in the presence of five children who were in the house.
According to initial police reports, two men broke into the property on Abdias de Oliveira Street and fired multiple shots at Steffanie. She died at the scene before emergency responders could arrive.
Military police officers cordoned off the area for forensic analysis by the Institute of Criminalistics (IC). Following these procedures, the body was taken to the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) in Recife.
Investigations revealed that the victim had previously been the target of an attempted murder. On that occasion, criminals fired shots at the door of her home, but no one was injured.
The Civil Police are working on the theory that the murder is linked to a dispute between criminal groups. According to the investigation, Steffanie had ties to drug trafficking and was responsible for selling narcotics for a man who is currently incarcerated.
Shortly after the crime, teams from the 13th Military Police Battalion searched the area and located two teenagers, both 17 years old. According to the police, the youths confessed to participating in the homicide and were taken to the Department of Homicide and Person Protection (DHPP).
In a statement, the Civil Police reported that the teenagers were apprehended *in flagrante* for acts equivalent to the crimes of consummated homicide and illegal possession of a firearm.
