A young mother who was breastfeeding her baby daughter has been shot dead in a car along with the baby and the baby’s father in a crime whose motive remains a mystery.

Rodrigo Silva, 25, his partner and their daughter, who is believed to be around one year old, were shot dead in their car in the municipality of Horizonte in Brazil’s Greater Fortaleza area.

The crime took place on a road with poor lighting and surrounded by scrub after 8 pm after nightfall on Tuesday, 7th September.

A local resident reported that the man was on his way to perform cleaning duties in a location where a bingo tournament was due to take place.

Locals said they heard several shots before the man lost control of the vehicle and veered into the roadside.

The man worked as a painter and performed odd jobs such as clearing land. He also helped to organise local bingo tournaments.

According to his relatives, he was not involved in crime. He leaves behind two daughters from a previous relationship.

His partner, whose identity was not revealed, was a full-time mum.

Police officers who arrived on the crime scene noted that the baby was found in the woman’s arms. Local residents said the woman was breastfeeding the baby at the time.

Relatives of the victims said that the family had not received death threats.

The motive for the crime remains unknown, but the police are investigating. They have registered the crime as a triple homicide.