An off-duty police officer suspected of being involved in the shooting turned himself in to authorities on Sunday afternoon, though police declined to provide many additional details on Monday morning.
Brazilian media, citing Lo’s lawyer, reported an altercation at the posh Clube Sirio. One person approached Lo’s circle of friends, lawyer Ive Siqueira Jr., told Folha de So Paulo, and tried to provoke the group. He picked up a bottle from their desk and did not return it. The lawyer said that Lou knocked the man down.
Once again on his feet, the man “took back four steps,” a witness told the national television program Fantastico on condition of anonymity. “He took a gun out of his waist and shot him in the head at point blank.”
Authorities issued an arrest warrant for military police officer Henrique Ottavio Oliveira Velozzo on suspicion of involvement in the shooting. Outside the campus, Lou’s fans and supporters shouted “killer” and “tramp” when officers arrived late Sunday afternoon.
Lou, 33, has dominated the martial arts for the past decade and was scheduled to take part in another tournament in Austin this week. His funeral was expected to take place on Monday in his native Sao Paulo village.
His death served as another grim reminder of the gun violence epidemic that is gripping Latin America’s largest country and kills thousands of people each year.
“Lo was one of the greatest athletes our sport has ever produced,” the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation said in a statement. “Lo’s global influence, passion and dedication to jiu-jitsu will always be remembered and honored for being a great champion and individual.”
His mother, Fatima Lo, posted a picture of him soaring into the sky wearing his jujitsu uniform on Instagram.
“I will miss you dearly,” she wrote. “A piece of me is missing.”
Low was considered one of the most talented fighters to ever enter the sport. The son of a boxer in So Paulo, he knew early on that he wanted to be a fighter. His initial aspiration, according to Folha, was not to compete, but to defend himself while growing up in a dangerous city.
“In the street, at school, you’ll always be scared of the big kids,” Lou said in a YouTube video. “So I said, ‘If I’m going to fight, I’ll know how to defend myself.’ ,
He was introduced to jujitsu through a social program, Fighting for God, whose mission is to provide structure and guidance to children in need through martial arts, and for a long time he was climbing into the upper echelons of competition. He eventually became the world’s best in five jujitsu categories and an eight-time world champion.
“The biggest among us,” said Unity Jiu-Jitsu School in New York City. “The sweetest, the greatest warrior, the best man.”