Mom waiting for her kids outside their school honored, after she shoots and kills gunman attempting a robbery
A mother, who was waiting for her children to be released from their school, foiled a gunman's attempted robbery by shooting the assailant on Saturday morning in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The mother, 42-year-old Katia da Silva Sastre, turned out to be an off-duty armed policewoman.
A security footage of the incident shows the gunman, identified as 21-year-old Elivelton Neves Moreira, approaching a crowd outside a private school with a gun.
However, his attempt at the robbery outside the school backfired when Sastre pulled out her own gun and shot the suspect three times as everyone else fled from the scene.
Moreira, who was rushed to the hospital shortly after the incident, succumbed to his injuries later at the hospital, according to reports.
The security clip shows Moreira falling backwards and clutching his chest after Sastre shoots him; Sastre then throws her handbag aside to shove Moreira on to his front with her foot.
The officer reportedly is a mother to two girls, aged seven and two, and has worked in the military for 20 years. Reports state that she is also married to a police lieutenant.
A day after the incident, Officer Sastre was being hailed as a hero for her act of bravery and was reportedly honored by Sao Paulo Governor Márcio França on Sunday in a ceremony.
Governor França took to Twitter on Sunday and said: "I went earlier to the 4th BAEP in the east of Sao Paulo to honor a very special mother: Corporal Katia Sastre. Her courage and precision saved mothers and children, yesterday at the door of a school."
The governor explained that the "homage" was made to Officer Sastre because it's Mother's Day and because she is a mum.
"She went to the party to celebrate the date and a situation like this happened. She acted so precisely, so perfectly, that we decided to honor her," the governor told Folha de Sao Paulo.
Governor França, however, also lamented the outcome of the incident and said that it was "sad and regrettable" that the assailant died.
"It is not ideal that the suspect died. We would have preferred this had not happened. But it is a warning to those who take up a gun that they could be killed because our security professionals are well trained to protect the public," he said.
Officer Sastre, who was off-duty on Saturday, was waiting for the Ferreira Master school gates to open with her daughters when the incident occurred.
Reports state that the assailant, who was dressed in a black jacket, walked up to the waiting parents and children and announced that it was a robbery and then pointed his .38 revolver at a group of mothers and children. The school was reportedly due to host a Mother's Day party, according to Daily Mail.
The man had reportedly pointed his firearm at the school's security guard and was reaching out to grab that guard's wallet and phone when he was suddenly stopped in his tracks by the officer, reports state.
Officer Sastre, who was alerted to the danger by another woman just seconds earlier, swiftly took out her police-issued weapon from her bag and loaded it, stepped forward and shot the assailant in the chest.
She later approached the stricken suspect and kicked off his gun which was lying near him, in case he attempted to fire back.
Sastre later told her colleagues: "I didn't know if he was going to shoot the kids or the mothers or the security guard at the school door. I just thought about defending the mums, the children, my own life and my daughter's."
"I had to act quickly to end his aggression and prevent him from harming anyone. I reverted to the training I have received in the corporation. It's gratifying to have been in the right place to have saved all our lives," Officer Sastre added.