Image source, Courtesy/Arruda Cámara Zobotánico Park/AFP
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- author, Joshua Seixas
- Author title, BBC News Brazil
Gerson de Melo Machado, 19, died on November 30 after a lioness attacked him when entering the cage the animal was in at the Arruda Camara Park, in the Brazilian city of João Pessoa.
Videos recorded by visitors show the young man climbing a side structure, using a tree as support, and jumping over bars and barriers until he reaches inside the animal pen.
The lioness, who was far away at the time, approaches him and watches him come down from the tree. The two stopped, but Gerson decided to keep getting closer. At that moment the monster attacked him.
Gerson was buried on Monday in a ceremony attended by his family and social workers who dealt with the young man who was suffering from mental disorders.
Among those attending was guardianship counselor Veronica Oliveira, who has known Gerson for nine years.
For her, Gerson’s death symbolizes the collective failure of the state, society and the safety net to ensure the minimum for a young man suffering from mental disorders.
“It was much more than that video from the park,” he lamented. “He was an abandoned, sick child, neglected by the entire system.” “What happened on Sunday was the final stage of an anticipated tragedy.”
Only on Monday was a court order to admit Gerson to hospital. He says that during these years attempts were made to obtain appropriate treatment, but the authorities’ response was that the young man suffered from behavioral problems.
“He went to all the institutional shelters of Joao Pessoa. We tried all the time to get a report. The psychiatrist at Juliano Moreira (Psychiatric Complex) said he had nothing, that the problem was behavioral,” the guardianship advisor said.
“We all have behavioral problems. But that doesn’t mean we go into a lion’s cage or throw rocks at police cars. Gerson was not taken care of. First in his right to have a family. Then in the right to receive treatment for his mental health, because he didn’t have a report.”
Image source, Agence France-Presse
Previous treatment
A 2023 report by psychiatrist Clesius Cabral dos Reis, reviewed by BBC Brazil, described “dissociative behaviour”, “episodes of mood swings”, “emotional lability (instability)” and “impulsivity”, thus recommending comprehensive multidisciplinary treatment.
The Municipal Health Secretariat of João Pessoa, when consulted, indicated that it is the family health teams that make the necessary referrals “to the appropriate services for the care of each individual.”
The authorities say: “With regard to the report, Gerson was treated by three psychiatrists (…) during his childhood and adolescence. In addition, he attended private counseling facilitated by social assistance services.”
They add that “all the specialists pointed to the same diagnostic hypothesis, which is not consistent with what is currently being mentioned,” so the young man was referred to another service.
Director of the Kaminhar Center for Psychosocial Care, Janina Demery, who is responsible for Gerson’s care after the age of 18, confirms that he has been under supervision since childhood. He said he accessed that service in December 2024, but had difficulty adhering to treatment.
“To give you an idea, he was here in December and then he disappeared. We did some active searches. He came back in June and then he disappeared again,” he says.
Image source, Video/Playback
“When we went to look for information, he was in a psychiatric hospital in Recife. He arrived last week and came straight to the service, where we welcomed him back and offered him continued treatment. Unfortunately, this happened on Sunday. The last day he came here was Thursday. On Friday he no longer appeared.”
The Paraiba Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation to monitor the actions taken after Gerson’s death.
The Municipal Environment Secretariat must submit a report on these measures within 15 days, “identifying possible administrative measures, inspections, technical assessments or security enhancement measures related to the Arruda Camara Park.”
During that same period, the park administration must explain the measures taken, including the status of the lioness.
Image source, Personal archive
Dream of taming lions
Oliveira recalls that Gerson always dreamed of taming lions. It’s been something I’ve talked about since I was a kid. Two years ago, for example, he tried to get into the landing gear of a plane at Joao Pessoa Airport because he wanted to “go to Africa on safari.”
“He spoke to the police as if he had done nothing,” he says. “He did not have the ability to distinguish between good and evil.” To her, the young man probably did not understand the risk he was taking by getting close to the lioness.
“If you watch the video carefully, you will notice: He comes in, climbs, goes to the tree. She is lying down. When he comes down and sees her approaching, he stops. She approaches and does not react because he has stopped. It looks like he is going to climb back up. In one of the videos, you can see that he is pointing. I think he said to her: ‘Stay there’. He thought there would be no problem. He tried to come down to play with her.”
The young man came to the Guardianship Council for the first time when he was about 10 years old. The Federal Highway Police (PRF) found him walking alone on the road. According to what he said at the time, he wanted to return to Mangabeira, where he would find his mother.
“We accompanied him and it was his grandmother’s house. To our surprise, when we arrived, the mother was very confused. She is schizophrenic, very dangerous, and so is the grandmother. Then she looked at him and said: My child, you cannot stay here.” He said: No, but I want to stay with you.
Image source, Zobotanico Park Arruda Cámara/AFP
The mother had lost her parental rights over her five children due to her severe schizophrenia. Four of them were approved. Gerson remained institutionalized.
“We talked to him and he told us that he did not want to stay in the shelter, because, in his opinion, the best solution was to stay with his mother. He was always very attached to her. But she did not have the right conditions, because she still does not have them today. At the funeral, a representative of the Human Rights Commission went to talk to her. Then she said to me: ‘Veronica, she is completely disoriented.’ She said: If she had survived, she would have sewn everything up.”
Influence on committing theft
According to Oliveira, Gerson had a strong connection with animals. He would steal horses to walk them, ride them for miles, and then return them after a short period.
Over time, he was influenced to commit petty thefts, always without planning or intent to cause harm. They taught him how to steal motorcycles, which he then returned to police stations.
On social media, he earned the nickname “Vaqueirinho” (little cowboy). “People started getting likes by posting things about him, encouraging him to do bad things,” Oliveira said. “It was very sad. We often filed complaints to remove him from social networks, because they were using his image.”
He felt safe in the social and educational system, where he had food and no one bothered him. When he left, he did something to come back. When he reached the age of majority, he lost the right to custody.
“He said he would find a way to go to prison,” Oliveira says. “It was a place where I would have food, routine and protection.”
Gerson has been through the prison system six times, always for unplanned actions, such as trying to break into an ATM near the police station or throwing a cobblestone at a patrol car after being released at a detention hearing.
A week ago, on 25 November, he went to the Trusteeship Council to request assistance in obtaining documents and obtaining a work permit. They did not come to him.
At his funeral, one of the priests said: “Society threw him into the lion’s cage.”
Arruda Câmara Park will remain closed to the public until investigations and official procedures are completed.
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