This five-year-old girl has tragically lost her life after she was hit by a stray bullet suspected to have been fired by a police officer while she stood outside her front door.

Ana Clara Machado, 5, was shot outside her home in the community of Monan Pequeno in the neighbourhood of Pendotiba in the Brazilian municipality of Niteroi on 2nd February.

A police team looking into stolen cars and cargo was on patrol in the area when officers were allegedly fired upon by five suspects.

The four officers fired back and the suspects reportedly fled to higher ground within the community.

According to the corps, the police team continued patrolling the area and were once again fired upon by the criminals.

It was then that shouts for help were heard from neighbours about a child who had been struck by a bullet.

The police rushed to the scene and tried to save little Ana Clara. She was taken to the Azevedo Lima State Hospital in Niteroi still alive, but died just as care arrived, according to local media.

It is not clear if the bullet that hit Ana Clara was fired by the criminals or by the police officers, and the victim’s mother, Cristiane Gomes, has cast doubt on whether there were any criminals in the area at the time at all, claiming to Record TV that there was no confrontation at the time of the shots.

The local news source also claimed that Ana Clara was hit in the neck and leg, suggesting she was shot more than once.

In an interview with news outlet Plantao Enfoco, Cristiane said: “We had just woken up. I opened the door for her and her two-year-old brother and told them to wait for me while I hung out the washing.

“When I went inside, I heard the shots. I only had time to run. I managed to grab my son and put him in the room, but when I went to grab my daughter, she was already lying on the ground unconscious.”

According to Plantao Enfoco, one of the officers was arrested shortly after the incident, and firearms belonging to the team have been collected by the authorities, who are launching an internal inquiry into the officers’ conduct.

The authorities have offered social and psychological assistance to Ana Clara’s family.

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