Gunmen Kill Brazil Judge Who Took on Death Squads

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazilian officials say a judge who sent death-squad members to jail was gunned down in front of her house.

The Rio de Janeiro State Public Safety Department says Judge Patricia Acioli was killed late Thursday in Niteroi, a city just across Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro.

Department spokeswoman Camila Damato says police have not made any arrests. She declined to comment further.

Known as a hard-line judge, Acioli sent to jail several police officers suspected of belonging to militia groups.

The G1 news website reports that witnesses told police that gunmen stopped Acioli as she was about to park her car and riddled it with at least 16 bullets. The report says she was killed instantly.