A second Taylor Swift fan has died in Rio de Janerio after being fatally stabbed after he went to see the pop star’s Eras Tour last night.
Gabriel Milhomem Santos was killed just hours after he attended the world-wide tour at Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium in the Brazilian city.
The 25-year-old, who was wearing a ‘Swifities’ friendship bracelet, was reportedly knifed to death as he rested on the famous Copacabana beach in the early hours of Sunday morning.
It is the second tragedy to take place during the singer’s three day stint in the Rio, after a 23-year-old woman went into cardiac arrest at the concert, as temperatures in the city soared to what locals said felt like 59C due to the high humidity levels.
Family members said Gabriel will be buried tomorrow in his hometown in the western state of Mato Gross do Sul wearing the clothing he had made especially to see his idol’s show.
Gabriel Milhomem Santos was killed just hours after he attended Taylor Swift’s world-wide tour at Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium
It comes after Ana Clara Benevides, 23, suffered a cardiac arrest and died after attending a Swift concert in Rio
One clip shared on TikTok appeared to show Swift struggling to breathe as she temperatures in the arena soared to more than 37C
The South American city is experiencing an unprecedented heatwave and fans were reportedly not allowed to bring water into the highly anticipated concert despite the sweltering temperatures.
Ana Clara Benevides, 23, fainted in the front row and was given CPR by doctors at the scene but failed to revive her.
She was transported to a hospital, where she suffered a second cardiac arrest and died.
Footage from the concert shows Swift pleading with stadium staff to give her fans water. At one point during the show, the singer brought the gig to a halt and threw a water bottle into the crowd.
Benevides was taken Salgado Filho Municipal Hospital but died soon afterwards.
In the aftermath, fans claimed that they had been banned from taking water into the venue but this has not been verified.
In a handwritten note published on Instagram, Swift spoke of her shock and announced she would be cancelling her Saturday night performance, explaining that the risks were too high for the show to go ahead.
‘I can’t believe I’m writing these words, but it is with her shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show. I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by by this,’ she posted.
Fans of singer Taylor Swift suffer from high temperatures as they waited for Saturday’s show
Firefighters were seen spraying fans with water ahead of Saturday’s show
‘I’m not going to be able to speak about this from the stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it.
‘I want to say now I feel this loss deeply, and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends. This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring the show to Brazil.’
One terrifying clip shared on TikTok appeared to show Swift struggling to breathe as she temperatures in the arena soared to more than 37C. In the 11-second clip, Swift can be seen hurriedly taking seven breaths before starting another of her hit songs.
‘There were people crying, people throwing tantrums, hoping it was all a lie, in short, it was terrible,’ said student Victor Guimaraes, who was waiting in line again on Sunday to watch the singer’s performance.
Swift megafan Gabriel had travelled to Rio from Belo Horizonte, where he was studying Aeronautic Engineering, to see the singer’s show.
He was with two female cousins when the group decided to stop by the city’s famous Copacabana beach to swim in the sea in the early hours of Sunday morning.
According to his cousins, Gabriel had dozed off on the sand when three robbers approached the group, and was stabbed when he suddenly woke up in the middle of the assault.
The robbers took the keys to the group’s hire care and two mobile phones, but two were later arrested by police.
Two of the robbers, Alan Ananias Calvacante and Anderson Henriques Brandão, had been released from custody hours earlier after being arrested for stealing 80 bars of chocolate.
A third man, Jonathan Batista Barbosa, reportedly with 10 other crimes on his record, is still on the run.
Taylor Swift has yet to comment on the latest death of one of her fans.