8 Corinthians football fans shot dead in Brazil

Eight football fans were gunned down ahead of a semi-final match at the Corinthians fan club headquarters in Sao Paulo, police and local media reported Sunday.

A Sao Paulo military police spokesman told AFP seven people were shot dead at the Corinthians' fan headquarters Saturday night and another later died in hospital.

The shooting was confirmed by a Corinthians club official to AFP.

The source noted the fan club is not affiliated with the official Corinthians football squad.  

Ahead of the team's semi-final game Sunday the team tweeted "Mourning" in white letters on a black background, the team's colors.

According to the news site G1, at least two armed men stormed the headquarters and executed seven people. Victims were forced to lie together and then were shot, witnesses told G1.

The team was playing Sao Paulo rival Palmeiras Sunday afternoon.

Brazil football matches have been tainted by violence in the past.

In February, police shot and killed a teenager when clashes erupted between rival football hooligans near Porto Alegre in the south of Brazil.

About 30 people died in soccer violence in the country in 2013, reports say.
Source: AFP