A young bullfighter was gored to de@th at his very first performance and this was caught on video.
A shocked audience member also later di£d.
Manuel Maria Trindade, 22, was seen making his debut Friday, August 22, in front of almost 7,000 people in the Campo Pequeno bullring in Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, to face a 1,500-pound bull.
Trindade started running toward the animal but it charged back at him.
Trinidade tried to grab its horns to slow it, the bull instead hoisted him up by its horns and carried him all the way to the other side of the ring.
Several other bullfighters ran out but failed to slow the charge as the bull continued attacking the helpless bullfighter, who remained sprawled on the ground.
They eventually got it to move by pulling on its tail and shining lights in its eyes.
Paramedics rushed to treat Trindade, but he suffered traumatic head injuries and was declared brain de@d when he arrived at the hospital. He also suffered cardiorespiratory arrest and di£d on Saturday, August 23, Portuguese outlet Correio da Manha reported.
73-year-old orthopedic surgeon Vasco Morais Batista, who was in the audience, also fell ill soon after the horrific episode and later di£d at a hospital, Touro e Ouro reported. Vasco Morais Batista’s de@th appeared to be from an aortic aneurysm, the outlet said, without saying if the horror of watching the fatal performance played a role.
Trindade’s mother, Alzira, later wrote an open letter slamming trolls who had celebrated her son’s de@th, which they blamed on him taking part in a cruel and medieval sport.
She addressed the letter to members of the Portuguese animal rights political party People-Animals-Nature (PAN) and its supporters.
“I want to thank you for all your applause, laughter, and rejoicing over my son’s de@th. Did you know him well enough to be happy about his de@th? Do you know if he liked animals?” she wrote in the letter, as shared by O Digital.
“My son belonged to a group of brothers who wear a jacket with honor and bravery. These groups never harmed a bull; they handled it skillfully!” Alzira Trindade wrote.
Portuguese bullfighting, unlike its infamous Spanish variation, is a bloodless sport where the object is not to k!ll the animal.
The aim of forcado like Trindade is to grab the charging bull by the horns and stop it or tire it out.
Despite being less cruel than Spanish bullfighting, there have still been calls from animal rights groups and left-wing parties in Portugal to ban the sport.
Watch video below.
“Imágenes sensibles”
Porque murió el torero portugués Manuel Trindade, de 22 años, tras sufrir una cornada mortal en Campo Pequeño en Lisboa.
— Tendencias en Argentina (@porqueTTarg) August 26, 2025
