The victims kept arriving - reporter shares lethal Rio police raid

The eyewitness

A photographer who documented the aftermath of a large-scale law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has recounted how residents brought back badly injured victims of the deceased individuals.

The casualties "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer described. The total contained security forces.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he reported. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be knife injuries.

More than 120 people were fatally injured in the Tuesday operation against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness explained that residents first notified him to the raid in the early hours by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter made his way to a local medical facility, where the casualties were being brought.

Itan explained that the police prevented journalists from going into the operation zone, where the police action were occurring.

"Police officers formed a line and declared: 'The press cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in that neighborhood, reported he succeeded to make his way into the restricted zone, where he stayed until the next morning.

He reported that Tuesday night, community members commenced searching the elevated terrain that borders Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Community members living in Penha arranged the located casualties in a public space - and Itan's photos show the emotions of those present.

"The brutality of it all affected me deeply: the grief of loved ones, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, weeping, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The photographer

The governor of the state declared that the extensive law enforcement effort with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at halting a criminal group referred to as Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

Initially, the Rio state government claimed that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured in the operation.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 individuals have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to the poor, has estimated the final tally of people killed as 132.

According to researchers, Red Command is the only criminal group that in the past few years has been able to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, alongside a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

Based on reporter a specialist, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city for years, Red Command "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and acting as "commercial associates".

The organization engages primarily in illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking firearms, gold, petroleum products, beverages smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, gang members have substantial firearms and police said that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of the state, the government representative, characterized Red Command members as criminal extremists and called the security forces killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the operation has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities saying it was "appalled".

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

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He further explained that the events had escalated as the individuals fought back: "It occurred of the retaliation they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The state leader also said that the casualties presented by community members in the area had been "tampered with".

In a post through digital channels, he claimed that particular individuals had been removed of military-style attire that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility onto the police".

A police official representing security forces further reported that tactical gear, body armor, and weapons" were stripped from the victims and presented video appearing to show a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse