🔗 Share this article The bodies just kept coming - reporter shares fatal Rio police raid The photographer Numerous victims were displayed in a public space in the Rio neighborhood in the wake of the bloodiest security action Rio has ever seen A reporter who documented the aftermath of a massive security raid in the Brazilian city has recounted how residents came back with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives. The casualties "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness stated. Among them were law enforcement personnel. A particular victim had been decapitated - additional victims were "totally disfigured", he said. Several bodies showed what he described as knife injuries. More than 120 people were killed in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced. In excess of 100 suspects were taken into custody during the security raid Bruno Itan explained that residents first notified him about the operation early on Tuesday by community members of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him informing him gunfire had erupted. The photographer traveled to the healthcare center, where the victims were coming in. The eyewitness reported that security forces prevented journalists from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the police action was under way. "Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and said: 'The press doesn't get past here'." Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in that neighborhood, explained he was able to gain access past the security perimeter, where he remained until dawn. He explained that evening, local residents began to search the elevated terrain that borders the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones who were unaccounted for since the police raid. Local people of the Penha neighbourhood organized the discovered victims in an open area - the photographer's images show the emotions of the gathered crowd. "The harsh reality of the situation shook me deeply: the sorrow of loved ones, mothers fainting, women carrying children, crying, furious relatives," the photographer recalled. Bruno Itan There was trauma in the neighborhood as residents retrieved additional victims from the surrounding area The state leader of the state announced that the extensive law enforcement effort with approximately 2,500 officers was designed to halting a gang called Comando Vermelho from growing their influence. Initially, the Rio state government stated that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives in the operation. Authorities later reported that initial estimates suggests that 117 alleged criminals were fatally injured. The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to the poor, has estimated the total number of people killed as 132. Based on expert analysis, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has managed to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction in the country, alongside First Capital Command, with a background extending half a century. Based on Brazilian journalist an expert, who has long reported on crime in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and acting as "operational allies". The organization concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in firearms, precious metals, petroleum products, liquor smoking products. Based on official reports, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and police said that during the raid, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones. The governor of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, described Red Command members as criminal extremists and called the four police officers killed in the raid as brave public servants. But the number of people killed in the operation has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "appalled". At a news conference the following day, the state leader justified security actions. "There was no objective to result in deaths. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he stated. He added that the circumstances intensified as the individuals fought back: "It resulted of the counterattack they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals." The governor further reported that the casualties presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "manipulated". In a post on online platforms, he said that certain victims had been removed of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation to security forces". Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force further reported that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and firearms" were stripped from the victims and displayed evidence appearing to show a man stripping military attire {off a corpse