Several people died Thursday during a police operation in the Complexo do Alemão, one of the largest favelas in Rio de Janeiro.
An officer and two other individuals were killed and a woman was injured, according to a police statement. The newspaper Or Balloonfrom Rio, and other media reported that the woman was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Arriving near the site of the operation, journalists from Associated Press they saw people carrying four bodies as observers cried out, “We want peace!” Local residents said there were more bodies in the favela and those trying to help the wounded risked arrest.
“It is a massacre inside, which the police call an operation,” he told the AP a woman who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “We are not allowed to help (victims),” she said, adding that she saw a man who tried to do so being arrested.
Police said in a statement that the target of the raid was a criminal gang in Complexo do Alemao that was robbing vehicles and banks, as well as invading neighboring neighborhoods.
Months ago, the Supreme Court imposed a series of conditions for police incursions into Rio’s favelas in order to reduce deaths and human rights violations at the hands of the police. The court ordered that deadly force be used only after exhausting all other means to protect life.
The ruling was in response to a raid on the Jacarezinho favela in 2021, in which 28 people were killed. As happened on Thursday, on that occasion an officer was killed, leading to speculation that he was the cause of the abuses and summary executions.
Thursday’s operation began at dawn and continued at noon. Some 400 officers participated, including from the police tactical unit backed by four helicopters and 10 armored vehicles, according to the police statement.
Videos circulating on social media showed intense gunfights and a helicopter hovering low over small brick houses. Rio police have fired at targets from helicopters even in densely populated residential areas, with videos showing gunfire from the favela at the helicopters.
In a video released by Voice of the Communitya local outlet focused on the favelas, sees neighbors crying for peace and waving white cloth from their windows and rooftops.
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