Harrowing moment a father flees a restaurant with his daughter in his arms after the two-year-old was killed in the crossfire of a shootout between police and a car thief 

  • Sofia Braga, two, was shot dead outside a restaurant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Her father Felipe de Souza Amaral Fernandez was filmed carrying her to the car
  • She was tragically pronounced dead at the hospital after he took her there 
  • 'She brought my wife and I nothing but happiness,' the father said in a tribute 

This is the distressing moment a terror-stricken dad runs from a restaurant with his two-year-old daughter in his arms after she was hit by a stray bullet during a shoot-out between a car thief and police.

Sofia Braga was fatally injured as she had fun in a children's play area at Habib's in Rio de Janeiro.

She was pronounced dead after her police officer father reached hospital with her.

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This is the distressing moment a terror-stricken dad runs from a restaurant with his two-year-old daughter in his arms after she was hit by a stray bullet during a shoot-out between a car thief and police

This is the distressing moment a terror-stricken dad runs from a restaurant with his two-year-old daughter in his arms after she was hit by a stray bullet during a shoot-out between a car thief and police

Sofia Braga is carried by her father Felipe de Souza Amaral Fernandez who was was fatally injured as she had fun in a children's play area at Habib's in Rio de Janeiro

Grief-stricken Felipe de Souza Amaral Fernandez, who works for the city's 16th battalion, confirmed the tragedy in an emotional tweet, saying: 'Friends of the 16th battalion. 

'It was my daughter, it was my daughter.

'It was during a police pursuit. 

'My daughter was in the play area at Habib's and the bullet the car thief fired hit my daughter. 

'She didn't survive.'

Speaking ahead of the funeral to local press and explaining how he had gone to investigate after hearing the commotion outside the restaurant, he revealed: 'I got up and went to see what was happening while the mothers who were there went looking for their children in the play area.

'I heard my wife shouting out the name of my daughter and yelling, "Sofia, Sofia," when she didn't appear.

'When I heard that I ran after her but couldn't find her. 

'When all the other children came out and I saw she didn't I climbed up one of the slides and saw she was at the top with her head covered in blood.

'I can't believe this is happening. 

'I live with danger but I never thought something like this would happen to Sofia.

'I always feared she would lose me and never envisaged it might happen the other way round.

'She was so beautiful, happy and intelligent, more than any other child I've seen before. 

The father took his daughter to the hospital where she was tragically pronounced dead

The father took his daughter to the hospital where she was tragically pronounced dead

'She brought my wife and I nothing but happiness.'

The tragedy happened around 10pm on Saturday night.

Police said afterwards they began their pursuit after the suspect, arrested after his stolen car overturned during the chase, refused to stop at a routine roadblock.

Sofia was buried on Sunday at Iraja Cemetery near to where she was killed less than 24 hours earlier.

Her mum Heriga Braga published an emotional Facebook message saying: 'Today I lost my angel. 

'An angel aged two years and seven months who showed me the best things in life.'

She also posted a series of poignant videos, including one showing the youngster counting to ten in English, alongside the message: 'I chose to bring you into the world, I chose to make you my companion for life, I chose to hold your hand and walk with you wherever you went.'

Stray bullets are an increasing danger for Rio's citizens.

The government hasn't published statistics on the victims of stray bullets since 2013.

But a local radio station reported in July last year 33 of 125 people injured by stray bullets in the first six and a half months of 2016 died, compared with 95 stray bullet shootings for the whole of 2015.

A stray bullet passed through the tented roof of the equestrian media centre at the Rio Olympics last August, landing near a photographer and next to a busy entrance.

It was initially believed to have come from nearby army live-fire exercises, though Rio 2016 claimed it was fired from a favela.

Eighteen children are said to have died from stray bullets in Rio de Janeiro since 2015.