Morumbi Shopping shooting

On November 3, 1999, a mass murder occurred inside a movie theater at the Morumbi shopping mall in São Paulo, Brazil. The perpetrator, Mateus da Costa Meira, then a 24-year-old medical student, killed 3 people that were in the room and injured other 4.^[1] In addition to the shooting, one of the walls in the room and a toilet mirror were damaged by bullets.

Meira was initially sentenced to a 120-year imprisonment, a term that was later reduced to 48 years.^[1] After he attempted to kill another prison inmate, it was determined in 2011 that he had to be moved to a psychiatric hospital, where he remains to this day.^[2] He is known in Brazil as the "shopping mall shooter" or the "cinema shooter".

The screen in which the shooting occurred was permanently closed. The cinema closed its three remaining screens in 2012,^[3] freeing up space for new stores.

Perpetrator's background

In November 1999, Mateus da Costa Meira (born April 4, 1975) lived alone in an apartment in São Paulo and studied medicine at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of São Paulo's Holy House (FCMSCSP), a well-regarded institution; he was in his sixth and last year, only three months from graduating. His rich family lived in Salvador and he regularly received money from his parents to live a comfortable life. He played "violent" video games (particularly Duke Nukem 3D) and owned a vast collection of illegally-copied software. He was described as shy, introverted and apathetic and had a low academic performance. He has schizoid personality disorder. Prior to the massacre, he already owned a pistol, but choose to obtain a more powerful weapon: a MAC-11 submachine gun.

The crime

Meira entered room number 5 of the movie theater at Morumbi Shopping at around 10:10 p.m. of November 3, 1999, approximately 55 minutes after the movie, Fight Club, had started.^[1] He watched the movie for 15 minutes and then went to the toilet, where he shot the mirror with his submachine gun. Back in the room, he stayed in front of the screen and shot to the ceiling, but that did not scare viewers since they believed it was an effect from the movie.^[1] He then shot against one of the walls, causing frightened viewers to hide behind seats. He then aimed and shot at a group of people, three of which died. As he tried to recharge the gun, one of the viewers stopped him.^[1] The shooting lasted about 3 minutes.

Trial and sentence

Caught in the act, Meira was sentenced to 120 and a half years in prison. His defenders alleged that he was only semi-imputable since he had mental issues. They tried to show the court that Meira experienced visual and auditory hallucinations, had crises of aggressiveness, and exhibited a solitary behavior. After several judicial appeals, his sentence was reduced to the maximum of 30 years according to Brazilian law. His defenders, to no avail, mentioned that the first mission of Duke Nukem 3D, "Hollywood Holocaust", features a cinema shooting.^[4]

He stayed at Carandiru Penitentiary until its deactivation in 2002 and was then moved to a penitentiary in Tremembé. In 2007, his sentence was readjusted to 48 years and 9 months. Later, in 2009, he was moved to a penitentiary in Salvador, his home town.

On May 8, 2009, Meira tried to kill a cell mate, the 68-year-old Spaniard Francisco Vidal Lopes, with scissors, apparently because the television's volume was too loud.^[2] He was put into trial but absolved later in 2011 since he was not considered imputable anymore due to his mental diagnosis. It was decided that he had to be moved to the Hospital of Treatment and Custody (HCT) in Salvador, where he remains to this day.

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