The victims kept arriving - reporter shares deadly Rio police raid

Bruno Itan

A photographer who documented the consequences of an extensive law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has described how local people came back with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The victims "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", Bruno Itan stated. They included law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies was found without a head - others were "completely mutilated", he said. Numerous victims displayed evidence of blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

The photographer explained that residents first notified him about the operation Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages telling him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness traveled to a local medical facility, where the bodies were coming in.

Itan explained that law enforcement prevented journalists from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were taking place.

"Security forces established a perimeter and said: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in the area, stated he managed to enter into the restricted zone, where he stayed until the next morning.

He reported during the night, community members started looking the mountainous area that separates the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Residents living in Penha organized the recovered bodies in an open area - the photographer's images show the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of it all impacted me deeply: the sorrow of loved ones, mothers fainting, women carrying children, weeping, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The state leader of the region stated that the massive police operation involving around 2,500 officers was designed to stopping a gang known as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

Initially, local officials stated that sixty alleged criminals along with four officers" were fatally injured during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has put the final tally of casualties at 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command represents the unique criminal entity which in recent years has been able to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded one of the two largest gangs nationally, in company with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Based on Brazilian journalist a specialist, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city extensively, the criminal organization "functions as a network" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and becoming "commercial associates".

The gang focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, but also smuggles guns, precious metals, petroleum products, alcohol smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates have substantial firearms and authorities stated that during the raid, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of Rio state, the government representative, characterized gang affiliates as drug terrorists and referred to the security forces fatally injured in the action as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of people killed in the security action has received condemnation from UN human rights officials stating they were "horrified".

At a news conference the following day, Governor Castro defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We wanted to arrest them all alive," he stated.

He added that the situation intensified due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the resistance they implemented and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The governor also said that the victims shown by residents in the area had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on social media, he asserted that particular individuals had been taken of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "in order to shift blame onto the police".

A police official from the police department further reported that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and weapons" were taken away from the casualties and presented video apparently demonstrating an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse