The victims kept arriving - eyewitness describes deadly Rio police raid

Bruno Itan

A photographer who witnessed the results of a massive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has described how community members brought back badly injured victims of those who had died.

The casualties "kept piling up: the count kept increasing", the photographer reported. They included law enforcement personnel.

One individual was discovered headless - additional victims were "totally disfigured", he said. Many also had evidence of stab wounds.

More than 120 people were fatally injured during the security action against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid in the city.

The eyewitness stated that he initially learned to the raid Tuesday morning by community members from the Alemão area, who reached out informing him an armed confrontation was occurring.

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

Itan explained that security forces stopped members of the press from accessing the affected area, where the security measures was under way.

"Police officers formed a line and announced: 'The press doesn't get past here'."

But Itan, who grew up in the community, stated he succeeded to enter past the security perimeter, where he continued through the night.

He described that evening, local residents commenced searching the hillside that separates the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who had been missing following the security action.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood organized the located casualties in a public space - the photographer's images show the response of those present.

"The violence of it all impacted me profoundly: the sorrow of relatives, women collapsing, women carrying children, weeping, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

Bruno Itan

The official of the state stated that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 officers was aimed at stopping an illegal organization referred to as the criminal faction from expanding its territory.

At first, state authorities claimed that "60 suspects and four police officers" had been killed during the action.

Authorities later reported that initial estimates shows that 117 "suspects" lost their lives.

The public legal service, that gives legal support to disadvantaged individuals, has put the total number of casualties to be 132.

According to researchers, the gang is the only criminal group which in recent years has been able to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction in Brazil, in company with another major gang, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

Based on correspondent a specialist, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio extensively, the criminal organization "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and acting as "commercial associates".

The gang concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in guns, valuable minerals, petroleum products, liquor smoking products.

According to the authorities, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and police said that during the raid, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, characterized organization participants as criminal extremists and referred to the security forces killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

But the number of people killed during the raid has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "shocked".

At a news conference on Wednesday, the official justified security actions.

"We did not plan to cause fatalities. We intended to arrest them all alive," he stated.

He further explained that the situation had escalated due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It resulted of the resistance they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The official additionally stated that the victims presented by community members in the area were "altered".

Via a statement through digital channels, he said that some of them had been stripped of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A law enforcement representative representing security forces additionally stated that military attire, vests, and firearms" had been removed from the casualties and showed footage seemingly depicting a man stripping military attire {off a corpse