Blogger, 28, is killed by stray bullet throughout gangland shootout in Rio – days earlier than Prince William’s go to
A 28-year-old blogger has been killed by a stray bullet during a gangland shooting in RIo de Janeiro just days before Prince William is set to visit the city.
Bank worker and travel blogger Barbara Elisa Yabeta Borges was riding in the back seat of a car when gunfire broke out near the Fundao footbridge in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 31.
According to the driver, the shots came as they passed the area, and Barbara was struck in the head.
She was rushed to the Hospital Geral de Bonsucesso, but doctors were sadly unable to save her life.
Police said the shooting occurred during an exchange of gunfire between rival criminal gangs.
Officers from the 22nd Battalion responded to the scene and seized a rifle, magazines and ammunition.
Hours before her death, Barbara had posted a reflective message to her Instagram account about affection and the value of relationships, urging her followers to ‘care for those who love you’ and warning that people cannot be replaced.
Barbara, who had been recently promoted at the bank where she worked in Rio’s South Zone, often shared photos of outdoor runs, hiking trips, and travel with her 18,000 Instagram followers.
Barbara’s death came just days before Prince William arrived in the city to present his Earthshot prize awards.
Bank worker and travel blogger Barbara Elisa Yabeta Borges (pictured) was riding in the back seat of a car when gunfire broke out
She was rushed to the Hospital Geral de Bonsucesso, but doctors were sadly unable to save her life
Arriving in Brazil today, he is touring some of Rio’s most iconic sites before attending the awards at the city’s Museum of Tomorrow on Wednesday.
The prize aims to reward contributions to environmentalism, with each winner receiving a grant of £1million for their work.
But the city is still reeling from the most lethal police operation in its history, which left 132 dead including four officers, during actions against the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) faction.
The ‘unprecedented bloodshed’ – which saw 2,500 police and soldiers last Tuesday storming the favelas of Penha and Complexo de Alemao – will see security beefed up.
A source told the Daily Mirror: ‘After the unprecedented bloodshed during fierce intergang fighting, the government has drafted in thousands more officers and the military.
‘All eyes will be on Rio while William is there, and there is genuine concern that violence will erupt again while he is in Brazil.’
Felipe Curi, Rio state police secretary, told a news conference that bodies of additional suspects were found in a wooded area where he said they had worn camouflage while battling with security forces.
He said local residents had removed clothing and equipment from the bodies, in what would be investigated as evidence tampering.
Prince William visits Sugarloaf Mountain during day one of his visit to Brazil on November 3 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The coffin of 19-year-old Ravel Rios, one of those killed during a deadly police operation against drug trafficking, is carried during his funeral at a cemetery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 31, 2025
Suspected drug dealers sit on the ground after they were detained by members of the military police special unit, during a police operation against drug trafficking at a favela in the Penha slum complex, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil October 28, 2025
‘These individuals were in the woods, equipped with camouflage clothing, vests and weapons. Now many of them appeared wearing underwear or shorts, with no equipment, as if they had come through a portal and changed clothes,’ Curi said.
Last week, in the neighborhood of Penha, residents had surrounded many of the bodies – collected in trucks and displayed in a main square – and shouted ‘massacre’ and ‘justice’ before forensic authorities arrived to retrieve the remains.
‘They can take them to jail, why kill them like this? Lots of them were alive and calling for help,’ resident Elisangela Silva Santos, 50, said during the gathering in Penha. ‘Yes they’re traffickers, but they’re human.’
