Police: Hospital security guard killed 39 people and robbed almost 100 businesses
By RYAN GORMAN
Authorities arrested a hospital security guard believed to have killed dozens of people and committed scores of robberies.
Thiago Henrique Gomes da Rocha, 26, was taken into custody Tuesday in the Brazilian city of Goiânia after being identified as the main suspect in at least 39 murders and about 90 robberies in only a 10-month span, according to the BBC.
A local law enforcement official called the accused serial killer a "coward" after it was revealed his preferred targets included young girls, women and homeless people in order to keep his anger at bay.
Rocha would allegedly approach his victims on motorbike and steal their belongings before executing them on the street, police told ITV. The .38-caliber handgun believed to have been used in the slayings has been recovered.
Police called Rocha a "cold person [who] killed out of anger" during a press conference, according to Sky News.
"He had no link to any of his victims and chose them at random. It could have been me, you or your children," said police. "He felt anger at everything and everyone."
The killings were done because Rocha's anger was so great that the only way to keep it at bay was to murder an innocent person, police believe.
He reportedly confessed to the killings by telling investigators exactly where each crime occurred and also exactly what he was thinking while watching each person die.
One of his victims was only 14-years-old, authorities said.
In addition to the slayings, Rocha is believed to have also knocked over about 90 lottery outlets, pharmacies and stores.
He was busted after police set up a task force to stem the grim tide of murders from the beginning of the year, according to ITV.
"Now we know there won't be any more victims. It's over," a relative of one of his victims told ITV.
Rocha tried to kill himself while in police custody by slitting his wrists with a broken light bulb.
He remains in jail pending a court hearing.
Related links:
Fla. man gets life in prison in loud music killing
Police fear trooper's killer looking to repeat
