Italian priest Rucoletto shot dead in Manaus

Authorities have arrested three suspects but still have no lead on the crime's motives, said the head of military police Dan Camara.

Brazilian police found Saturday the body of Italian priest Ruggero Rucoletto, who was shot in the head, at a parish where he lived in the suburbs of Manaus.

Authorities have arrested three suspects but still have no lead on the crime's motives, said the head of military police in the Amazon river port city, Colonel Dan Camara.

The Archdiocese of Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, said the Italian priest, who had worked for two years in the impoverished Santa Etelina neighborhood outside Manaus, was a victim of "urban violence."

The priest did not engage in political activities, had not enemies and had never received death threats, the Catholic Church said.