A homeless man who died saving the life of a woman being held hostage by a gunman in Brazil is being hailed a hero.
Luiz Antonio da Silva took an unnamed woman hostage for an hour on the steps of São Paulo Cathedral Friday afternoon, according to Yahoo7 News. Video captured on the scene shows 61-year-old Francisco Erasmo Rodrigues de Lima, who was homeless, rushing to the woman's aid and tackling da Silva. The woman was able to get away, but de Lima was shot.
"An armed criminal targeted a victim and announced a hold-up," read a police statement obtained by Metro UK. "A passerby saw what was happening and on intervening, was injured by shots fired by the criminal. The passer-by died at the scene. The victim, who was also injured, was helped by local police at the scene where she received medical attention."
The gunman also died at the scene, police confirmed.
People took to Twitter to praise the heroic and selfless acts of de Lima, BuzzFeed noted, sharing photos of the homeless man with angel wings.
A priest from the cathedral released a statement in Portuguese, according to Globo, saying "in the cathedral, we pray in for those who have lost their lives in daily tragedies and violence" and asking everyone to "ask God to restore peace in our city and for scenes/incidents like that to not happen again."
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article said a statement released by a priest from the São Paulo Cathedral was in Spanish. The statement was in Portuguese.