This is the joyous moment a nine-year-old football fan is seen with his birthday cake and later with his dad shortly before armed gunmen burst in and kill both of them as well as his female cousin.

Birthday boy Heitor Felipe Moreira de Oliveira, 9, died in a hail of bullets alongside his 26-year-old dad Felipe Moreira, 26, and his cousin Layza de Oliveira, 11, after the killer broke into the family home in Belo Horizonte, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, on Thursday, 23rd May.

Footage shot at the birthday party before the massacre shows the smiling birthday boy standing with his father with guests smiling and laughing lightheartedly.

But graphic and distressing images from the aftermath show the bloodbath that the killers left in their wake, with the nine-year-old boy seen lying dead on the floor while still wearing his Brazilian national team shirt.

Other bodies are seen scattered on the floor, with the local police saying that a number of people were left injured, with three dead.

One witness said that the killers were “cowards” and had “arrived shooting”.

The Military Police said there were at least three suspects who had arrived by car.

Six people were hit, with the cops saying that the birthday boy’s father was the target.

The gruesome shooting reportedly took place towards the end of the birthday celebrations at around 7 pm as guests were leaving, after having arrived at around 9 am that morning.

The three injured are said to be a 13-year-old teenager, her mother, and a 19-year-old teenager.

They were rushed to hospital, according to reports. There have been no updates on their conditions.

The captain of the local police, Arley Santos, said that the brutal shooting was part of a drug war taking place in the area.

The police captain said: “They came in shooting, without worrying about whether it was a party or whether there were children.”

At the time of writing, there had been no reports of any arrests.

The investigation is ongoing.