Leandro Lo, Jiu Jitsu legend, shot in head at club, killed
The jiu jitsu community mourns one of their own today as Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Leandro Lo reportedly has been killed in Brazil.
Lo, 33, was at a club in the Saude neighborhood of Brazil when he was allegedly shot by an off-duty police officer who is now on the run, police said.
Lo, whose full name is Leandro Lo Pereira do Nascimento, was taken to hospital where he was declared brain dead hours later.
Witnesses say Lo was at Clube Sirio with friends when an off-duty police officer who has been identified as Henrique Otavio Oliveira Velozo, approached him and started making threatening gestures with a glass bottle at the table. Lo then immobilized him and told him to go away.
The officer then allegedly pulled a gun out and shot Lo in the forehead, police said.
In the police report, it is stated witnesses said Velozo grabbed a bottle from Lo’s table, which prompted the jiu-jitsu fighter to take him down and hold him. They were separated, and then Velozo got back to his feet, pulled a gun and shot at Lo’s forehead.
Lo, 33, was a multi-time BJJ world champion. His resume included victories in the World Cup, Pan American championships and Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championships.
Lo earned his black belt under Cicero Costha at Cicero Costha Academy in São Paulo.
His guard technique earned Lo recognition as one of the “best pound for pound grapplers to have ever graced the mat.”
