A 21-year-old Brazilian model and influencer was dragged from her home and fatally shot outside while her father watched, according to police and local reports.
Evelyn Lima Dantas was killed in the early hours of Wednesday, Sept. 16, in Mãe do Rio, a municipality in the northeastern state of Pará. Police were called to the area around 3:57 a.m. after neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots.
When officers arrived, they found Dantas’ body on the sidewalk outside the home, covered with a sheet.
Family members told investigators that two men had entered the residence around 3:30 a.m., overpowered those inside and forced Dantas outside before shooting her multiple times.
Her father told police the attackers then fled in a vehicle, though he could not identify its make, model or color.
Before leaving, the gunmen allegedly spray-painted the letters “TCP” on the front of the property.
The initials are associated with Terceiro Comando Puro, a major Brazilian criminal faction. However, authorities have not publicly confirmed that the organization ordered or carried out Dantas’ killing.
That distinction is important as investigators try to determine whether the killing was connected to another homicide case Dantas had recently become entangled in.
Dantas had been arrested in July while authorities investigated the killing of retired police sergeant Antônio Anildo Alves da Silva, 56, who was shot outside a supermarket in Mãe do Rio on July 29. Brazilian reporting from the time said investigators suspected Dantas of providing logistical support to people connected to the attack.
She had been released on provisional terms on Sept. 9 while that investigation continued — just one week before she was killed.
Police are now examining whether her death could have been retaliation or an attempt to silence someone who may have known information about the earlier case. Those possibilities remain investigative theories, not established facts.
Authorities are also reviewing surveillance footage, forensic evidence and witness statements as they work to identify the two gunmen.
No arrests had been announced in Dantas’ killing as of the latest reports.
Dantas had built a sizable following online, where she posted lifestyle, fashion and travel content. Reports vary on the exact size of her audience, with some outlets saying she had more than 24,000 followers and others putting her combined TikTok and Instagram following above 150,000.
Her killing has drawn particular attention because of its timing: she had only recently been released from custody, and the alleged gang initials left at the scene have added another layer of mystery to the case.
For now, police have not publicly established a motive or confirmed who ordered the attack.
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