Teenage soccer fan gunned down in Argentina

Buenos Aires, May 1 (IANS/EFE) An 18-year-old soccer fan was gunned down over the weekend after a match in Olavarria, a city outside Buenos Aires, Argentine police said Monday.

Leandro Pianciola died Sunday at the municipal hospital in Olavarria from two gunshots to the chest.

Pianciola was shot about 200 meters from soccer club Racing's stadium, where the team had been beaten 1-0 by Crucero del Norte, a team from Misiones.

A man who allegedly shot Pianciola from a motorcycle was arrested, but police did not tell the motive for the shooting.

"Leandro was shot twice in the chest. They rushed him to the hospital, but there was no way to save him. It was an unexpected attack. It's not known if it was for fun. It happened in broad daylight and there are eyewitnesses," the victim's uncle told the Buenos Aires radio station La Red.

"He was always going to the stadium with friends, but he never had any problems. There have been previous incidents of violence among fans of Racing of Olavarria," the victim's uncle said.

Some 250 people have died in soccer-related violence in Argentina since professional matches started being played in 1931, the non-governmental Salvemos al Futbol organization says.

The group works to help victims and the families of victims of soccer-related violence in the South American country.

--IANS/EFE

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