Brazil police serve warrants in case of slain councilwoman

Brazilian police say they have served several arrest, search and seizure warrants in connection with the murder of a councilwoman nine months ago.

Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Pedro Gomes were shot dead in Rio de Janeiro on March 14 while returning from an event focused on empowering young black women.

The police department said in a Thursday statement it could not provide further details because the case is under seal.

Public Security Minister Raul Jungmann told reporters in April that the killings were “very probably the work of Rio de Janeiro’s militias.”

He was referring to armed groups who vie with criminal gangs for control of Rio’s poor communities and have been accused of summary executions.