At least 25 people are killed in a shooting in Rio de Janeiro, including a police officer.
Rio de Janeiro – Rio de Janeiro is considered the most dangerous city in Brazil. Large areas of the metropolis are under the control of criminals, many of whom are linked to influential drug trafficking gangs. On Thursday (local time) at least 25 people were killed in a large-scale police operation against such suspected drug gangs. A police officer was among the victims, the police said in the evening.
In the early hours of the morning security forces had rallied to arrest drug traffickers in the poor Jacarezinho district in the north of the city. Local residents uploaded videos of explosions and heavy fighting on online networks. At least two subway passengers came into the line of fire and were injured, the news website G1 reported.
Bloodbath in Rio: Raid in the poor district of Jacarezinho
The raid targeted suspected drug traffickers who are accused of recruiting minors for their illegal activities. Jacarezinho is a stronghold of the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) gang, which is considered the largest criminal organization in Rio de Janeiro.
The police said that the 24 people killed by the forces were “suspects”. The officers obeyed all operational rules before opening fire. A spokesman for the authorities confirmed the death of one of their officers. Police chief Ronaldo Oliveira told Reuters that Thursday’s raid resulted in “the largest number of deaths in a police operation in Rio”.
Rio de Janeiro: Police operations during the pandemic only in exceptional cases
Human rights activists: inside criticized the deployment as disproportionate and racist: “Who are the dead? Young black people. That is why the police speak of ’24 suspects’ ”, said the head of the network of observatories for public safety at the University of Candido Mendes, Silvia Ramos. The authorities would “pile up bodies” and keep saying, “These are criminals”.
According to the human rights group Instituto Fogo Cruzado (Crossfire Institute), which collects data on armed violence in Brazil, it was the deadliest operation since the NGO was founded five years ago. The Brazilian Constitutional Court recently ruled that such police operations were only permitted under “exceptional circumstances” during the corona pandemic. (skr with afp)
Rubriklistenbild: © Silvia Izquierdo / dpa
