Luciano Macedo happened to be on the street April 7 when a military patrol opened fire on a vehicle they thought was carrying criminals but in fact was a family on their way to a baby shower.

The driver of the vehicle, Evaldo dos Santos Rosa, was killed in the hail of gunfire and two others were wounded, including Macedo and a male relative of dos Santos.

But miraculously dos Santos wife, seven-year-old son and a friend escaped unharmed.

Nine soldiers have been detained over the shooting, which the military has described as a "sad incident."

Mourners at dos Santos' funeral last Wednesday blamed Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and the military.

But Bolsonaro, a former paratrooper and strong supporter of the army, has denied the military killed anyone in the incident.

"The army did not kill anyone," he was quoted as saying. "The army belongs to the people and you can't accuse the people of being a murderer."

"There was an incident, a death."