Thirty-year-old receptionist Mayara Stephany Varela de Almeida Sousa died at the Hospital de Base of the Federal District on the morning of Friday (16) after being beaten and shot the previous night in the administrative region of Candangolândia. Civil Police investigators are treating the death as the 19th femicide recorded in Brazil’s Federal District in 2026. The victim’s former partner, 40-year-old André Eduardo Alves da Silva, fled the scene immediately after the shooting and remains a fugitive.
The attack took place around 7:30 p.m. on October 15, 2026, along Quadra QR 1A in Candangolândia as the receptionist walked home from work after stopping at a local supermarket. Security cameras installed along the street captured the moment the assailant grabbed the woman by her hair, knocked her down, and struck her with punches and kicks. While she was already lying on the ground, the shooter fired three rounds at close range before escaping.
- Victim: Mayara Stephany Varela de Almeida Sousa, 30, receptionist and mother of two children aged 12 and 3.
- Suspect: André Eduardo Alves da Silva, 40, an information technology professional and father of the victim’s 3-year-old daughter.
- Location of the attack: Quadra QR 1A in Candangolândia, Federal District, near the victim’s residence.
- Investigating unit: 11th Police Precinct of the Civil Police, located in the neighboring district of Núcleo Bandeirante.
Before the gunfire erupted, a neighbor saw the receptionist make a silent distress gesture with her hand as she was approached on the street. She held her palm facing outward, tucked her thumb into her palm, and closed her four fingers over it, executing the universal hand signal created to alert bystanders to domestic violence and imminent danger. The witness told relatives and fellow residents that he did not intervene during the confrontation because he did not recognize the meaning of the hand movement or realize what was unfolding outside.
Tactical units from the 25th Battalion of the Military Police of the Federal District (PMDF) and paramedics from the Military Firefighters Corps of the Federal District (CBMDF) responded to the emergency calls and provided initial trauma care on the pavement. Paramedics transported the victim to the Hospital de Base in cardiac arrest, and medical staff confirmed her death at 9 a.m. on Friday (16). Authorities have not released a final forensic report establishing the exact anatomical sites of the bullet wounds, as preliminary rescue logs cited impacts to the head and chest while the victim’s mother stated that two shots struck her head and one hit her hand.
The victim’s mother, Josilene Varela, lives on the street directly behind the site of the shooting and heard the commotion from her home. “We live here on the back street and I heard the shots, but I never imagined it was with my daughter. I heard the ambulance passing by as well. I called her cell phone, because she is never late, she is very responsible. I called her cell phone and the doctor answered, saying that my daughter was at the hospital, shot,” Josilene Varela said.
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Child support disputes and police search for André Eduardo Alves da Silva
Detectives from the 11th Police Precinct in Núcleo Bandeirante are leading the manhunt for André Eduardo Alves da Silva, who works in the information technology sector. The receptionist, who previously worked as a hairdresser in the Sudoeste neighborhood before taking her current job, leaves behind two children, aged 12 and 3. The younger child is the daughter of the fugitive suspect, from whom the victim had been separated for two years.
Relatives reported to investigators that the former couple had frequent arguments triggered by a court action demanding child support payments for their 3-year-old daughter. “They fought a lot, because he did not accept the request for child support, he took a long time to pay. So every month it was a fight. I made my daughter file a police report against him under the Maria da Penha Law,” the victim’s mother stated, referring to Brazil’s federal statute designed to prevent and punish domestic and family violence against women.
Federal District Governor Celina Leão, of the Progressistas (PP) party, mobilized the Secretariat for Women to assist the bereaved family and noted that the victim did not have an active restraining order against her former partner at the time of the shooting. “This woman had a police report in 2024 or 2025, but in the record it is registered that the Viva Flor program was offered and she said she did not need it,” the governor declared, mentioning the regional government’s monitoring and protection network for women facing domestic threats. “When they say they are going to kill us, they can kill us for real,” Celina Leão added.
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Prior domestic violence records and sequence of the attack
Public records and family statements show a history of legal complaints involving the suspect prior to the fatal shooting in Candangolândia. Police and judicial files outline the progression of the disputes up to the morning of Friday (16).
- 2024 or 2025: The receptionist files a formal police report against her former partner for verbal aggression, insults, and cursing, but declines enrollment in the Viva Flor protection program.
- January 2026: André Eduardo Alves da Silva becomes the defendant in a separate court case involving violence against a woman, defamation, and crimes against honor; because those proceedings are under judicial secrecy, authorities have not confirmed whether the receptionist was the complainant.
- October 15, 2026: The assailant ambushes, beats, and shoots the victim three times at approximately 7:30 p.m. in Quadra QR 1A in Candangolândia, prompting her emergency transfer to the Hospital de Base.
- October 16, 2026: Doctors pronounce the victim dead at 9 a.m., and Civil Police officers expand operations to locate and arrest the fugitive suspect.
Emergency hotlines and protection measures in the Federal District
Residents with information regarding the whereabouts of fugitive suspects or ongoing domestic assaults in the Federal District can contact law enforcement agencies at any hour. The Military Police dispatches patrol cars for active emergencies through the 190 phone line, while the Civil Police receives anonymous tips at 197 and records criminal complaints in person at neighborhood precincts. Across Brazil, the federal government operates the Women’s Call Center at 180, which offers free, confidential guidance and forwards complaints to local prosecutors, and women facing threats can request urgent court-ordered restraining measures directly at any police station to mandate the removal of an aggressor.
