Young man killed by lion after entering cage had 16 police records

The death of Gerson de Melo Machado, 19, known as ‘Vaqueirinho’, after entering a lion cage in João Pessoa, Brazil, on Sunday (11/30), exposed a history marked by extreme vulnerability, untreated mental disorders, and successive police records. According to delegate Josenice de Andrade Francisco, in an interview with Metrópoles, the young man had 16 records, mainly for damage and petty theft. She says the young man showed visible mental disorders. During his last detention at the police station last week, there was a request for psychiatric hospitalization that was not evaluated. The youth presented mental disorders, visible. During his last detention at the police station last week, there was a request for psychiatric hospitalization. ‘I believe the request was not considered,’ she said. Social worker Verônica Oliveira, who accompanied the young man for eight years, said that many times he went to the police station on his own and turned himself in.