A television news cameraman injured while covering clashes between protesters and police in Rio last week was declared brain dead today, health officials said.
Santiago Ilidio Andrade, 49, who worked for Bandeirantes television network, was hit in the head by a projectile on Thursday during violent protests against bus fare increases.
Rio de Janeiro's public health office said neurosurgeons at Souza Aguiar municipal hospital declared Andrade brain dead.
The protests, which were held just four months before Rio hosts the 2014 World Cup, echoed massive street protests last June during the Confederations Cup.
Those protests also were triggered by bus fare increases but spread from Sao Paulo to other cities amid a public outcry over government corruption and huge cash outlays for the sporting events.
In last week's protests, about 1,000 people stormed a bus and metro station, trashing ticket machines and battling police who fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
A 22-year-old youth, Fabio Raposo, was arrested yesterday after admitting to having handled a flare that later hit the cameraman.
Video images of the protest showed Raposo holding the flare. Police said he told them he picked it up off the ground and passed it to another protester.
Five other people were injured in the protests, which began as a peaceful demonstration and later turned violent.
