West News Wire: Leandro Lo, an eight-time jiujitsu world champion from Brazil, was fatally shot in a Sao Paulo nightclub, according to the lawyer for his family.
The attacker approached their table and started making threatening gestures with a bottle on Sunday while Lo was out with friends for a performance at the Clube Siria, a sport and social club in Brazil’s largest city, according to lawyer Iva Siqueira Junior.
From 2012 to 2022, Lo set an all-time record by winning five distinct weight class world titles for the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF). Lo put the man to the ground “to stop the situation and avoid a fight,” Siqueira added.
He claimed that Lo’s buddies then assisted both guys in standing up while pleading with the assailant to stop being aggressive and leave.
“At that exact moment, the guy allegedly turned around, pulled out a gun and shot Leandro in the head,” Siqueira told the AFP news agency.
The jiujitsu champion was rushed to hospital, but was pronounced brain dead, he said.
An off-duty police officer has been arrested for allegedly shooting the 33-year-old, after turning himself in to the authorities, local media reported.
A Sao Paulo court ordered the 30-year-old suspect detained for 30 days pending further investigation, the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper reported.
Speciality site BJJ Heroes called Lo “one of the best pound-for-pound grapplers to have ever graced a mat”.
With roots in Japanese judo, Brazilian jiujitsu developed in the South American country in the early 20th century, and is one of the most popular full-contact sports, featuring prominently in mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions.
