Police operation leaves five dead in the Complexo da Maré.
Three other people were injured and 19 were arrested.
Agência Brasil/EBC - Five people died and three others were injured in a Police operation in the Complexo da Maré, in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro.Another 19 people were detained. The conflict arrived at the Red Line, one of the city's main expressways.
Drivers threw themselves to the ground to protect themselves from the gunfire. Schools and health centers in the area suspended services. According to the Military and Civil Police, the operation is still ongoing.
According to the Military Police, the five people killed were suspected of crimes, and the three people who were injured have outstanding arrest warrants against them. Their identities have not been confirmed. They were taken to the Bonsucesso Federal Hospital. The cases will be forwarded to the Capital Homicide Division.
The operation is being carried out jointly by the State Secretariat of Military Police and the State Secretariat of Civil Police. According to the police, the objective is to contain attempted attacks by one criminal faction against another in this region. The operation involves 120 police officers and the use of six armored vehicles and two aircraft.
Military police officers from the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE), the Canine Action Battalion (BAC), and civil police officers from the Special Resources Coordination (CORE) are operating in the Vila do João and Vila dos Pinheiros communities.
At the time of publication, the operation had seized two rifles, a pistol, a replica air gun, a grenade, approximately one ton of marijuana and 50 cannabis plants, 48 bottles of poppers, and recovered stolen cars and motorcycles.
Shooting
Around 7 a.m., the conflict reached the Linha Vermelha (Red Line), disrupting traffic and causing congestion. Drivers abandoned their vehicles and lay on the ground for protection. There were also intermittent blockades on the Linha Amarela (Yellow Line), an expressway that also borders the Complexo da Maré.
Military police officers from the 22nd BPM (Maré) and the Highway Patrol Battalion (BPVE) preemptively stopped traffic on the Linha Vermelha highway to protect users during the morning. Teams from the Special Patrol and Crowd Control Battalion (Recom) were also deployed to reinforce the area, according to a statement from the Military Police.
Classes have been suspended at 35 schools in the Maré region, and according to the Municipal Department of Education, remote learning is being conducted to ensure the safety of students and staff.
The schools follow a protocol established by the Safer Access Program, created in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross. The program aims to mitigate risks through protocols applied by teachers, students, and the entire school community in units located in conflict zones. The protocol is activated whenever a risk situation arises.
The Vila do João Municipal Health Center and the Augusto Boal, Adib Jatene, and Jeremias Moraes da Silva family clinics, located in the Maré region, also suspended operations on Monday and activated the safer access protocol for the safety of professionals and users.
The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) whose campus The University City, located on Fundão Island, near the area where the conflict occurred, also suspended classes this morning for the safety of the academic community.
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