Brasilia, June 18 (RHC)-- Dozens of Brazilians took to the streets this week to protest against the death of Black teenager Guilherme Silva Guedes, 15, who disappeared in Vila Clara, Sao Paulo Saturday after he was kidnapped.

According to witnesses Guilherme was forcibly placed in a car.  His lifeless body was found a few kilometers from where he was kidnapped, showing signs of torture and gunshot wounds to the head and hand.

One of Guilherme’s relatives told local media the teenager was in front of his grandfather’s house when two armed men abducted him.  His family mentioned a Military Police (PM) officer who works in the region as their main suspect for the crime.  “He was calm, loving, we never saw him fighting.  Guilherme was very loved in the community. The demonstration was for him, everyone liked him,” the relative said.

The teenager’s killing comes as tens of thousands of Brazilians joined the international protests against racism and police violence following George Floyd's killing by a white officer in the United States, as anti-Black racism is also deeply enshrined in the Brazilian society.

The PMs are the most feared law enforcement agents in Brazil.  "Their roots stretch back to colonial times," explains historian Luiz Antonio Simas.  The force was founded in 1809, as a royal guard protecting Joao VI of Portugal, who had fled to the colonies to escape Napoleon.