An 11-year-old boy was shot by a stray bullet as he watched New Year’s Eve celebrations from his family home.

Victim Juan Davi de Souza Faria had rushed out to watch fireworks in Mesquita, Brazil, marking the moment 2023 began.

But minutes later he was dead after a bullet from celebration gunfire fired from the crowd below hit him.

Witnesses told how Juan had been sitting on a chair outside the family home watching fireworks when he was hit.

Cousin Luis Felipe Alves da Silva, 24, told local media: “We were celebrating inside, we hugged each other when it was midnight.

“He went to the balcony and didn’t come back.

“We just saw him lying on the floor, we thought the champagne bottle had broken and cut him. He was on the floor all bloodied.”

Juan was taken to a local emergency unit, but he ended up dying from his injuries.

Luis said: “He went straight to the emergency room, they injected him with adrenaline, they tried to resuscitate him for 40 minutes, but he failed to respond.

“He died. I just want whoever did this to pay.”

Civil Police are now trying to determine who fired the fatal shot.

Military Police have confirmed that no police operation was ongoing at the time.

Juan’s aunt Adriana told local media: “Imagine our pain, he was an only child, my sister is in no condition. It hurts a lot.”

And his cousin Saulo Santos took to social media to write: “I can’t believe it.

“You were alive at 11.59pm, at 00.05am, killed by a stray bullet. This world is very cruel. I will love you for eternity.”