🔗 Share this article The bodies just kept coming - reporter shares deadly Rio law enforcement operation The eyewitness Multiple casualties were arranged in a public space in northern Rio in the wake of the deadliest police raid Rio has ever seen An eyewitness who observed the aftermath of an extensive security raid in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how community members came back with badly injured victims of those who had died. The bodies "kept piling up: the count kept increasing", the photographer reported. Among them were law enforcement personnel. One individual was found without a head - additional victims were "severely damaged", he reported. Many also had evidence of blade trauma. In excess of 120 victims lost their lives during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced. In excess of 100 suspects were detained during the security raid Bruno Itan stated that he was first alerted about the operation in the early hours by community members from the Alemão area, who contacted him informing him an armed confrontation was occurring. The reporter went to a local medical facility, where the casualties were being brought. Itan explained that security forces stopped members of the press from going into the affected area, where the police action was under way. "Police officers established a perimeter and declared: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'." But Itan, who grew up in the community, explained he was able to make his way into the restricted zone, where he continued until the next morning. He described that Tuesday night, area inhabitants started looking the hillside that separates the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who were unaccounted for following the security action. Community members living in Penha organized the recovered bodies in a public space - the photographer's images reveal the response of the people there. "The violence of the situation shook me deeply: the grief of the families, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, crying, angry family members," the photographer recalled. The eyewitness There was trauma in the community as residents retrieved additional victims from the adjacent terrain The state leader of Rio state stated that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 officers was intended to stopping a gang known as the criminal faction from expanding its territory. At first, state authorities claimed that sixty individuals along with four officers" were fatally injured in the operation. Authorities later reported that early calculations shows that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured. The legal assistance organization, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the total number of people killed to be 132. According to researchers, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has managed to make territorial gains across the region. It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction in Brazil, together with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline extending half a century. According to Brazilian journalist an expert, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio for years, Red Command "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and acting as "operational allies". The criminal group engages primarily in illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking firearms, gold, energy resources, alcohol smoking products. According to the authorities, gang members have substantial firearms and officials reported that while the action was underway, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones. The official of the region, the political leader, labeled gang affiliates as criminal extremists and described the four police officers who died during the operation as brave public servants. However, the count of people killed in the security action has received condemnation from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "appalled". In a media appearance the following day, the official supported law enforcement. "It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he declared. He further explained that the events had escalated as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they executed and the excessive violence from the gang members." The official additionally stated that the casualties displayed by locals in Penha had been "manipulated". Via a statement through digital channels, he said that some of them had been removed of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation to security forces". A law enforcement representative representing security forces also said that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and weapons" were stripped from the casualties and presented video seemingly depicting an individual cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse