Rio De Janeiro Gang Raid: 18 Killed Including Police Officer, Innocent Woman in Brazil's Major Deadly Encounter

At least 18 people were slain in a horrific slaughter in a Brazilian favela when 400 armed police attacked the slum, which was home to an organized crime ring.

A local lady, an officer, and 16 gang members were killed in Complexo do Alemao during an hours-long gunfight in which police helicopters traded fire with the targets following a dawn raid.

Rio De Janeiro Police Conduct Deadly Raid

Officers were aided by eleven bulletproof cars and four helicopters as they attempted to apprehend the criminals who had looted vans carrying supplies for banks and other companies. Social media videos revealed fierce shootouts between criminals, as well as a police helicopter hovering low over the tiny, brick dwellings and barricades, lit on fire to prevent security personnel from passing through.

Residents waved white towels and sheets in surrender, but the carnage continued, with neighbors bringing the dead covered in blankets through the destitute streets. Authorities defended their officers' actions during the operation, claiming that units were violently attacked using military and guerilla techniques while accusing gang members of using citizens as human shields.

According to authorities, the operation began in the morning and ended at approximately 4:00 pm local time on Thursday. About 400 cops were involved, including Rio's tactical police squad. As reported by Ronaldo Oliveira, an investigator with the Rio de Janeiro police department, officials would have preferred to apprehend suspects, but regrettably, they chose to shoot at our cops.

In May, 22 individuals were slain, including a female bystander, in an early morning raid on the Vila Cruzeiro slum. This was about a year after Rio's worst police operation, in which 28 people were slain in the Jacarezinho slum.

Locals denounced Thursday's police operation for using excessive force, as they had done in May. Activists have criticized government abuse during such anti-crime operations, including extrajudicial executions of suspects, which they claim frequently go unprosecuted.

Brazil's Supreme Court Established Conditions on Conducting Raids

Rio de Janeiro police officers were set to start wearing body cameras this year, which some security experts say would help avoid some, but not all, cases of police brutality. It was unclear whether officers wore body cameras during the Complexo do Alemao operation.

Brazil will also have presidential elections in October, with security a prominent topic of discussion and Bolsonaro running on a tough-on-crime posture. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of Brazil imposed a set of requirements on police raids in Rio's favelas to prevent police deaths and human rights violations. The court ordered that lethal force be used only when all other options have been tried and when it is imperative to protect life, Daily Mail reported.

Rio state police often conduct lethal raids in the city's extensive slums. President Jair Bolsonaro favors police using harsh techniques to combat organized crime, saying gangsters should "die like cockroaches."

Following the raid, residents could be seen loading injured persons into the backs of trucks to be transported to hospitals while police looked on. Police, according to Anacrim Human Rights Commission member Gilberto Santiago Lopes, declined to assist, as per Reuters via MSN.

Social media videos depicted fierce shootouts between criminals as well as a police aircraft hovering low over the little, brick cottages. Rio de Janeiro police have utilized helicopters to shoot at targets, even in heavily populated residential areas, and footage shows rounds being fired at the aircraft from the slum.

Residents can be heard appealing for peace and waving white cloths from their windows and roofs in another video posted by Voz da Comunidade, a community news site focusing on Rio's favelas, according to New India Express.

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Rio de janeiro, Brazil