Teenager arrested for setting homeless man on fire and broadcasting the attack live

A 17-year-old teenager was arrested in Pechincha, West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, after throwing two Molotov cocktails at a homeless man sleeping on the street. The attack, which was broadcast live through Discord, generated a wave of indignation and led to a quick response from the authorities.

The Discord broadcast and the digital tracking

The video of the attack began to circulate on the internet and reached the Police Station for Attention to Victims of Children and Adolescents (Dcav). Given the seriousness of the case, support was requested from the Cyber ​​Operations Laboratory of the Ministry of Justice to track down the person responsible.

“After the video was released, the Ministry of Justice notified Discord, which provided key information about the account used in the broadcast. From this, a cross-referencing of data and digital intelligence was carried out to identify the IP and the user behind the attack,” explained delegate Cristiano Maia.

While investigators were making progress in identifying the attacker, the teenager's grandmother and sister recognized his face in the images and decided to hand him over to the police.

Motivation of the attack: an online challenge and money

The first investigations indicate that the teenager carried out the attack as part of a challenge on the social network, where he was trying to impress other participants. In addition, he would have received around R$ 2,000 from an individual not yet identified.

The authorities also discovered that the young man participated in online communities linked to hate crimes. “One of his aliases on digital platforms was ‘I hate favelas’ and he had links to neo-Nazi groups,” explained the delegate.

Evidence found and victim's condition

At the teenager's house, the police found masks, caps and gloves used in the attack, as well as a knife. In addition, they found child sexual abuse material on his cell phone, which further aggravates his legal situation.

The homeless man attacked was identified as Ludierley Satyro José, 46, who suffered burns on almost his entire body and remains hospitalized at the Lourenço Jorge Hospital, in Barra da Tijuca. His health condition is stable.

The young man will be charged with attempted triple-qualified homicide, with aggravating factors of vile motivation, cruelty and attack without the possibility of defense for the victim. In addition, he will face charges for possession of child sexual abuse material.

"This was a brutal crime, committed coldly. He had no motive, he only did it to show that he could do it," concluded the delegate.