According to guardianship counselor Veronica Oliveira, who accompanied Gerson de Mello Machado, “Vaquerinho”, for eight years, the young man who broke into a lioness’s cage in João Pessoa (PB) and died on Sunday (30/11), dreamed of going to Africa to tame lions. According to her, he invaded the runway at Castro Pinto Airport, in the capital, Paraíba, in an attempt to fulfill his wish.
According to her, Gerson, who died at the age of 19, cut the airport’s protective fence, managed to reach the area designated for aircraft and reached the landing gear of the Gul plane. He added, “I thanked God when the airport informed me. They noticed this on cameras before the tragedy occurred.”
The scene was not just an isolated incident. Police officers who monitored the young man’s frequent visits to the Central de Flagrante – he had 16 convictions for damage and petty theft – said Gerson persistently repeated his desire to go to Africa to care for lions. He said he would make the trip “on foot,” and the agents tried to explain that the continent was thousands of kilometers away.
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Conditional closure.
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Gerson de Mello Machado, vaqueríño, killed by a lioness in João Pessoa, after breaking into the animal’s cage
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Guardianship Counsel Veronica Oliveira along with Gerson de Mello Machado, known as Vaquerinho
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The lioness that attacked the young man in Joao Pessoa
Materials submitted to Metropoles
Family abandonment and psychological disorders
Veronica accompanied Gerson from the ages of 10 to 18. The first time she saw him, he was taken by the Federal Highway Police (PRF) to the Child Protection Board, after he was found walking alone in a bedroom. Since then, it has been part of the Child Protection Network.
She describes him as a young man who grew up without family support and in harsh conditions. The son of a schizophrenic mother whose grandparents also had mental health problems, he lived in extreme poverty.
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Among the brothers, Gerson was the only one who did not find an adoptive family. “Specifically, because there is a potential disorder,” Veronica says. “Society wants to adopt perfect children, which is impossible in institutional care, where they only arrive in the face of extreme neglect.”
However, Gerson’s disorders were not officially recognized until he entered the socio-educational system.
According to the specialist, although the mother lost custody years ago, the young man continued to search for her. “Even though he was destitute, he loved his mother and dreamed that she would be able to take care of him,” he says. “He escaped from the shelter and went straight to his grandmother and mother’s house.”
The case
On Sunday, Gerson invaded the cage of a lioness in the park of Arruda Camara, known as pica, in João Pessoa, Paraíba.
In an official note, the João Pessoa City Council reported that he “quickly climbed a wall more than 6 meters high, passed through the security bars, used a tree for support, and entered the lioness’s enclosure.”
The municipal administration announced that it had already begun investigating the circumstances of the case, expressed its solidarity with the victim’s family, and confirmed that the zoo follows all technical and safety standards.
The Military Police and the Paraiba Scientific Police Institute (IPC) were called in to take appropriate action. The zoo was closed immediately after the attack, and visits were suspended.