People
João Arruda
João Guilherme Rego Arruda
- Born
- 13 January 1954, São Miguel Island, Azores
- Died
- 26 April 1974, São José Hospital, Lisbon
A 20-year-old student from the Azores at the Lisbon Faculty of Letters, he was hit in the head by DGS gunfire at around 20:30 on 25 April 1974 and died at São José Hospital at 00:30 on 26 April.
He was born on the island of São Miguel, in the Azores, on 13 January 1954, one of the thirteen children of a road worker and a housewife and washerwoman. At 9 he entered the Minor Seminary of Angra do Heroísmo and, in 1972, went to study Philosophy at the Catholic University in Braga. Shortly afterwards he broke with religious life and, in September 1973, entered the Lisbon Faculty of Letters; he also worked at the National Employment Service. He is thought to have taken part in actions of the PCP and the MRPP.1
On 25 April 1974 he went down to the Baixa, like thousands of others, and he appears in RTP footage filmed in Largo do Carmo. In the early evening he was among those demanding the surrender of the political police outside the DGS headquarters, on Rua António Maria Cardoso. The agents fired from the windows into the crowd. At around 20:30, João Arruda was hit in the head; he died at São José Hospital at 00:30 on 26 April, aged 20.12 To this day, the identity of whoever killed him is unknown.1
In 1980, a group of citizens put up a plaque by the building with the names of the four dead; his appears, by mistake, as “José Guilherme R. Arruda”.4 In 2010, Lisbon City Council also put up a plaque there about what happened and about the history of the building.1
On the walks
Places
In the timeline
They crossed paths with him
Fernando Giesteira
1955–1974
An 18-year-old waiter from Trás-os-Montes, he was the youngest of the four civilians killed by DGS gunfire on Rua António Maria Cardoso, at the end of the day on 25 April 1974.
Fernando Reis
1950–1974
A 23-year-old soldier on leave in Lisbon, he was one of the four people killed when the DGS fired on the crowd on Rua António Maria Cardoso, on the night of 25 April 1974.
José Barneto
1935–1974
A 38-year-old clerk and father of four, he was killed by DGS gunfire outside the headquarters of the political police, at the end of the day on 25 April 1974.
Silva Pais
1905–1981
Director of the political police, he warned Marcelo Caetano at 05:00 on 25 April that “the Revolution is out on the streets”. He only surrendered the DGS headquarters on the morning of the 26th, after the agents had killed four people on Rua António Maria Cardoso.
Alfredo Assunção
A lieutenant in Salgueiro Maia’s column, he was assaulted on Rua do Arsenal by Brigadier Junqueira dos Reis while trying to negotiate — and responded with a salute. In the afternoon, he brought Spínola’s emissaries to the Carmo.
António de Spínola
1910–1996
A general and author of “Portugal e o Futuro” (Portugal and the Future), he received Marcelo Caetano’s surrender at the Carmo Barracks, presided over the National Salvation Junta and was President of the Republic until he resigned, on 30 September 1974. On 11 March 1975 he fled to Spain.
Sources
- 1João Guilherme Rego Arruda (biografia). Museu do Aljube Resistência e Liberdade — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 2Os mortos pela PIDE em 25 de Abril. Esquerda.net — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 3Esta semana, e sempre, a rua lembra os quatro homens assassinados pela PIDE/DGS. Time Out Lisboa (1/4/2024) — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 4Placa da ex-sede da PIDE: reposta mas em local escondido. Esquerda.net (29/12/2009) — consulted on 2 October 2026