Brazilian president vows to investigate murder of Rio councilor

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian President Michel Temer on Thursday vowed to track down the killers of Marielle Franco, member of the Rio city council, who was shot dead in a targeted killing on late Wednesday.

Franco was shot by at least nine shots, four of them in the head. Her driver, Anderson Pedro Gomes, was also killed.

According to local authorities, the shots came from another car, which hit Franco's vehicle from behind. Nothing was stolen, and so far there is no clue on the murderers' vehicle.

Ironically, Franco's death occurred while Rio state is under a federal intervention, which was supposed to help curb crime and violence.

Franco received the fifth largest number of votes in the latest city council elections in 2016. She was a rising left-wing leadership, who fought for women rights, against racism, criticized police brutality and racial profiling.

The office of the United Nations in Brazil published on Thursday an official statement calling for rigorous investigation of the murder of the Rio councilor.