Businessman Antonio Vinicius Lopes Gritzbach was the main target of the attack, and died in terminal 2 of Guarulhos Airport, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo
The governor of São Paulo, (Republicans), posted on , the old Twitter, a statement about the in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, which injured four people. Businessman Antonio Vinicius Lopes Gritzbach was the main target of the attack, and died at the scene. According to the governor, everything indicates that the criminal action is associated with organized crime. “All circumstances will be rigorously investigated and all those responsible will be severely punished. I reinforce my commitment to continue fighting organized crime in São Paulo with firmness and courage”, he added.
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Everything indicates that the criminal action that took place today at Guarulhos Airport is associated with organized crime. All circumstances will be rigorously investigated and all those responsible will be severely punished. I reinforce my commitment to continue combating organized crime…
— Tarcisio Gomes de Freitas (@tarcisiogdf)
The crime
Gritzbach had already made statements in investigations into the (PCC) and was threatened by the faction. The businessman was returning from Goiás with his girlfriend – there is no information on whether she was injured. The victim had also already been accused of having ordered the assassination of a leader of the criminal organization – which he denied. There were at least 27 shots, according to experts. Gritzbach was hit in several parts of his body, including his head, chest and arms. The attack occurred around 4 pm.
The other three affected are two app drivers and a passenger who was disembarking at the location. Until early evening, the information was that their condition was stable. At least one of the victims was inside the airport. According to the Public Security Secretariat of the State of São Paulo (SSP-SP), one of the victims was treated and gave a statement at the scene, while the other two were taken to the General Hospital of Guarulhos.
The victim
Gritzbach was a young real estate agent for the construction company Porte Engenharia when he met Anselmo Bechelli Santa Fausta’s group of drug traffickers, Cara Preta. It was the accusation of having ordered Cara Preta to be killed, in 2021, that led to the first death sentence against him, handed down by the faction. After kidnapping him, the bandits, however, decided to release him. For the police, the reason was the fact that only Gritzbach knew the keys to rescuing the cryptocurrencies – killing him would mean losing the money forever.
In September 2023, he negotiated a plea agreement with prosecutors from the Special Action and Combat Group (Gaeco), who agreed with the proposal. The agreement was approved by the Court in April 2024. In the plea, he spoke about the involvement of the PCC, the largest criminal organization in the country, with football and the real estate market. The businessman also gave information about the murders of faction leaders, such as Cara Preta and Django. In a statement, Porte says that it was informed by the press about the death of Gritzbach, “with whom it has not done business for years”. And he states that he was “a real estate agent at the company only between 2014 and 2018”.
Published by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
