Genildo Ferreira de França

Genildo Ferreira de França (1970 - 1997), known as Neguinho de Zé Ferreira, was a Brazilian spree killer who killed 14 people in and around Santo Antônio do Potengi, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil on May 21 and May 22, 1997. He was eventually cornered by police, and then he killed himself. Ferreira’s rampage remains the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in Brazilian history.

Life Ferreira was born in Santo Antônio dos Barreiros (now Santo Antônio do Potengi) and served in the 7th Battalion of Combat Engineers (7o Batalhão de Engenharia de Combate) in Natal until January 1990, where he developed an affinity to weapons and was considered an excellent marksman. He owned a grocery store, was married twice, and had three children.

According to his friends Ferreira was a man of unpredictable behaviour, who had sudden outbursts of anger, during which he would utter death threats. The driver of the taxi was not punished for the death.

In September 1995 Ferreira and his wife Mônica separated for a month and she moved in with her aunt Maria das Dores Barbalho. According to Barbalho, Mônica told her family that she had decided to leave Ferreira, and to force the separation she invented the story that Ferreira was homosexual, claiming that she had caught him in flagrante in bed with Edilson Carlos do Nascimento. The rumor spread rapidly in Santo Antônio do Potengi and people, especially his father-in-law Baltazar Jorge de Sá, began talking behind his back about his alleged homosexuality. Ferreira never forgave his wife for spreading the rumor, and after that frequently threatened her and her family with murder whenever they had an argument.

According to his brother Genilson, Ferreira stated that after losing his son and being accused of being homosexual, he felt he had nothing to lose. He also said that Ferreira had called a funeral parlour in October 1995 and ordered a coffin for his own funeral, which was never delivered, and also invited some of his friends to dig his grave. When they arrived at his home, they believed he was joking and called police, who then searched his home and seized two handguns and 200 rounds of ammunition. Ferreira ordered another coffin in February 1997, telling the undertaker he was going to kill himself, and began laughing when it arrived. According to police the tavern was a hang-out for drug addicts, where Ferreira, who himself smoked marijuana, sold drugs.

Ferreira's mother Maria said that in the days prior to the shooting he appeared very agitated and restless. Reliving the trauma of his son's death, he became even more upset when he found out the name of the taxi driver responsible for the accident, and constantly talked about taking revenge, of which she tried to dissuade him. and in the days prior to the shooting had scouted the area for a place to which he wanted to lure his victims.

Ferreira had a list of about 20 people he wanted to kill, either because they owed him money or for spreading rumors that he was homosexual. During his rampage he wore a camouflage vest and was armed with a semi-automatic pistol with two 15-round magazines, as well as a .38-caliber revolver with suppressor, and had with him five boxes of ammunition with a total of 250 rounds, a hunting knife, and a nylon bag. During five of the murders Ferreira was assisted by 22-year-old dos Santos, who was holding his victims' hands to their back.

May 21 The shooting started on May 21 some time between 16:00 and 18:00 in a remote area near São Gonçalo do Amarante, where Ferreira killed taxi driver Francisco Marques Carneiro, who was dating Ferreira's ex-wife and made comments about him being homosexual, with a shot to the forehead.

Together they drove to the home of Elias dos Anjos Pimenta in Santo Antônio do Potengi, arriving there at about 19:30. After Pimenta, who owed Ferreira R$10 (equivalent to about R$ or US$ in 2025), had joined the trio, they drove to Ferreira's father-in-law, Baltazar Jorge de Sá, whom they asked to help with the delivery of a cow. At a coppice Ferreira ordered his father-in-law and Pimenta to kneel down and shot them dead.

During the night Ferreira was said to have searched for William Duarte Nobre Junior, going to his house three times, but due to a breakdown of his truck Nobre did not return home that night.

Ferreira, apparently abandoning his plan to kill his parents, returned to the home of his father-in-law, where he and da Silva arrived at 6:30, to search for de Sá's two daughters, who were already at school at that time. After killing his mother-in-law Tereza Carlos Ribeiro, Ferreira drove to the house of his ex-wife Maria Valdete Rafael da Costa, just 200m away, and killed her, as well as her mother Francisca Neide Rafael da Costa, when she tried to help her. He then took his 5-year-old daughter

Victims

Mônica Carlos de França, 19, Ferreira's wife Baltazar Jorge de Sá, 43, Ferreira's father-in-law Tereza Carlos Ribeiro, 41, Ferreira's mother-in-law Maria Valdete Rafael da Costa, 24, Ferreira's ex-wife Francisca Neide Rafael da Costa, 46, mother of Maria Valdete John, 48, neighbour of Ferreira's parents Francisco de Assis Bezerra, 38, sergeant of the military police Fernando Correia de Souza, 42, truck driver Edilson Carlos do Nascimento, 29, ceramist Elias dos Anjos Pimenta, 28, ceramist Antônio Josemberg Campelo, 18, messenger Francisco Canindé Marques Carneiro, 37, taxi driver João Maria Silva de Lima, 38, farm worker Flávio Silva de Oliveira, 22

Aftermath Valdenice Ribeiro da Silva was arrested immediately after the shooting, being suspected of having been an accomplice of Ferreira. According to her statement she and Ferreira had smoked marijuana before and during the massacre.

Legacy Sangue do Barro, a documentary by Mary Land Brito and Fabio DeSilva about Ferreira's crime, was released in 2009.