SAO PAULO, Brazil
Police in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro have named the main suspect in connection with the death of cameraman Santiago Andrade, who died after being hit by a flare while covering a violent protest on Thursday.
Officers are searching the city and the wider Rio de Janeiro state for Caio Silva de Souza, 23, who has been seen on footage at the scene.
A photograph of the suspect was also released on Tuesday by Rio's civil police force.
An arrest warrant was issued on Monday and Souza is now considered a fugitive, G1 website reports.
The award-winning cameraman, who worked for Brazil's TV Bandeirantes for the last 10 years, was officially declared brain dead on Monday.
Last Thursday's protest was sparked by a decision by the local government to increase the price of bus fares by nine percent to R$3.00 (1.25 U.S. dollars), which came into force on Saturday, in scenes reminiscent to those scene last year across Brazil.
-Information passed to police
Another suspect, 22-year-old Fábio Raposo, has already been arrested and charged with murder, despite telling police he had only passed the firework to Souza after finding the device on the ground. Police consider him to be jointly responsible for the incident and Andrade's death.
The identity of the suspect now being sought was passed to police by Raposo's lawyer on Monday, who said he was hopeful it could mitigate charges against his client.
Despite earlier reports that Raposo did not know Souza, his police statement shows that he knew the man, if only by other protests.
The pair will both be charged with intentional murder, according to Maurício Luciano, chief police investigator on the case.
If convicted, they could face 35 years in prison, Brazilian media say.
-Funeral
Andrade's family say his funeral will take place this Thursday in the Rio port area of Caju.
The service will initially be open to the public, but will later continue with only relatives, including the cremation service.
His family have also said they will allow his organs to be donated. Andrade had been kept in a medically-induced coma at Rio's Souza Aguiar Hospital since the incident last Thursday.
On Monday, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff called on police to do all they could to find the perpetrator of the crime, which she said was "revolting and saddening."
englishnews@aa.com.tr
