A guard watched but did not help. Police said filing a report was not possible.
Quando estudantes de uma universidade católica em Belo Horizonte começaram a relatar assaltos nas imediações do campus — e a testemunhar a inação daqueles encarregados de protegê-los — a instituição foi compelida a responder com tecnologia e promessas de maior presença policial. A PUC Minas anunciou catracas e reconhecimento facial com inteligência artificial para o campus Coração Eucarístico, medidas que chegam depois de ao menos duas estudantes sofrerem tentativas de roubo com lesões físicas. O episódio coloca em relevo uma tensão antiga: a distância entre a arquitetura da segurança e sua prática cotidiana, entre o aparato visível e a proteção real.
- Estudantes estão sendo abordadas e agredidas em plena luz do dia nas ruas adjacentes ao campus, em locais que deveriam oferecer alguma sensação de proteção institucional.
- Uma vítima viu um segurança observar seu ataque sem intervir e ainda encontrou resistência policial ao tentar registrar um boletim de ocorrência — falhas que transformaram indignação pessoal em pressão pública.
- A universidade convocou uma reunião com o Batalhão da Polícia Militar e estudantes, anunciando catracas, leitores de reconhecimento facial e expansão das câmeras de monitoramento como resposta imediata.
- A polícia comprometeu-se a intensificar operações nas áreas de maior incidência e reforçou a importância dos registros formais para orientar estratégias preventivas.
- A pergunta que permanece é se a tecnologia instalada nas entradas do campus pode proteger quem ainda está do lado de fora — e se a cultura de resposta mudará junto com a infraestrutura.
A PUC Minas anunciou na quinta-feira, 28 de maio, um conjunto de medidas de segurança para o campus Coração Eucarístico, em Belo Horizonte, após uma série de tentativas de assalto contra estudantes nas imediações da universidade. Entre as novidades estão catracas nas entradas, sistemas de reconhecimento facial com inteligência artificial e ampliação das câmeras de monitoramento — o campus já conta com cerca de 600 equipamentos instalados. O anúncio foi feito após reunião entre a administração universitária, o 9º Pelotão do 34º Batalhão da Polícia Militar e estudantes.
A urgência das medidas ganha contornos humanos nas histórias de quem foi vítima. Larissa França Lima, 23 anos, foi atacada na noite de 21 de maio na Avenida Dom José Gaspar, próxima ao Museu de Ciências Naturais da PUC. Um homem tentou tomar seu celular à força; ela resistiu, caiu, machucou joelho, tornozelo e bateu a cabeça. O que agravou sua indignação foi constatar que um segurança em uma guarita próxima assistiu à cena sem agir — e que, ao tentar registrar boletim de ocorrência, foi informada de que isso não seria possível. Sua crítica pública às falhas institucionais ajudou a pressionar pela resposta anunciada esta semana.
Já Ana Luísa Maloy, 24 anos, estudante de jornalismo, sofreu tentativa de assalto na terça-feira, 26 de maio, em frente ao Edifício Key West, ao lado de uma das entradas principais da universidade, onde mora. Um homem tentou arrancar sua mochila e tomar seu celular; ela gritou e o agressor fugiu ao perceber outras pessoas na rua. Diferentemente de Larissa, Ana Luísa conseguiu registrar o boletim e posteriormente identificou o suspeito por fotografias fornecidas pela polícia. Ela observou que outras estudantes relataram situações semelhantes na região, sugerindo um padrão sistemático.
O Capitão Arthur, do 34º Batalhão, comprometeu-se a redirecionar rotas de patrulha para os pontos de maior incidência. A tenente-coronel Síria Delgado Matias reforçou a importância dos registros formais como base para o planejamento preventivo. A resposta institucional, embora expressiva no papel, ainda precisa provar que vai além da tecnologia nas entradas — afinal, as câmeras e catracas nada fazem pelo estudante que ainda está do lado de fora quando o ataque acontece.
PUC Minas announced a suite of security upgrades to its Coração Eucarístico campus on Thursday, May 28th, following a series of robbery attempts targeting students in and around the university grounds in Belo Horizonte's northwest region. The university plans to install turnstiles at campus entry points and facial recognition systems powered by artificial intelligence, alongside expanded surveillance cameras and increased police patrols in the surrounding streets. The announcement came after a meeting between university officials, the 9th Company of the 34th Military Police Battalion, and students—a gathering prompted by mounting reports of assaults and frustration over what students describe as inadequate institutional response.
The campus already operates roughly 600 surveillance cameras, according to university administration. During the meeting, Captain Arthur of the 34th Battalion committed to intensifying police operations in the area, pledging to redirect patrol routes toward locations where robberies had occurred. Lieutenant Colonel Síria Delgado Matias, commander of the 34th Battalion, emphasized the importance of filing formal incident reports, noting that documented complaints help shape preventive strategies. She also signaled the police department's intention to strengthen communication with residents and students.
The urgency behind these measures became clear through the experiences of students who have become victims. Larissa França Lima, 23, was attacked on the evening of May 21st while walking along Avenida Dom José Gaspar near the PUC Minas Museum of Natural Sciences. A man attempted to snatch her phone from her hand, and the two struggled. She fell to the ground, injuring her knee and ankle and striking her head before the assailant fled. What intensified her frustration was not just the attack itself but what came after: a security guard stationed in a nearby booth witnessed the incident but did not intervene. When she attempted to file a police report, she says officers told her it was not possible to do so.
Larissa has been vocal about the conditions that enabled the attack. The area around the museum, she points out, is poorly lit and lacks adequate illumination. The campus itself has open access, creating vulnerability. Her public criticism of both university security and police response helped catalyze the institutional action announced this week.
Another student, Ana Luísa Maloy, 24, a journalism major, reported a robbery attempt on Tuesday, May 26th, in front of the Key West Building, adjacent to one of the university's main entrances. A man tried to pull her backpack and grab her phone as she walked toward the building's entrance, where she lives. She screamed and the assailant fled when he noticed other people on the street. Unlike Larissa's experience, Ana Luísa was able to file an incident report and later identified the suspect through photographs provided by police. She has noted that other female students have shared similar experiences in the university's vicinity, suggesting a pattern rather than isolated incidents.
These accounts paint a picture of vulnerability that extends beyond individual misfortune. Students are being targeted in spaces that should be secure—near campus buildings, on university-adjacent streets, in areas where institutional presence should provide protection. The failures documented by Larissa—the guard who watched but did not help, the police who initially refused to file a report—suggest systemic gaps between the infrastructure of security and its actual implementation.
The university's response, while substantial on paper, raises questions about whether technology alone can address what appears to be a coordination and responsiveness problem. Turnstiles and facial recognition systems may deter or identify offenders, but they do nothing for students attacked in the moments before they reach a controlled entrance. The real test will be whether the police follow through on their commitment to intensified patrols and whether the university's security personnel are trained and empowered to act when they witness an assault in progress.
Citações Notáveis
We will intensify operations and direct patrols to the locations where incidents have occurred.— Captain Arthur, 9th Company of the 34th Military Police Battalion
Formal incident reports are essential for helping us plan preventive actions.— Lieutenant Colonel Síria Delgado Matias, commander of the 34th Battalion
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did it take multiple attacks before the university acted?
The incidents had been happening, but they gained traction when students like Larissa went public about the failures—the guard who didn't help, the police who wouldn't file reports. That visibility forced a response.
Do turnstiles and facial recognition actually make students safer?
They're tools for control and identification, not prevention. If someone attacks you on the street before you reach the turnstile, the technology doesn't help. What matters more is whether guards respond and whether police take reports seriously.
What did the police say about why they initially refused to file a report?
The source doesn't explain their reasoning. But Larissa's experience suggests either bureaucratic indifference or a misunderstanding of their own procedures. The police commander later emphasized how important those reports are for planning.
Are these attacks part of a larger crime wave in the area?
The reporting doesn't establish that. What we know is that multiple students have been targeted near this specific campus. Whether it's organized, opportunistic, or a spike in a normally safer area isn't clear from what's been said publicly.
What happens to students who can't afford to live on campus or nearby?
That's the real vulnerability. They're commuting through these streets, exposed during the walk to and from the university. The security measures protect the campus itself, but not the journey to it.