The eyewitness
A reporter who documented the results of an extensive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has described how local people returned with mutilated bodies of people who lost their lives.
The victims "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness stated. The total contained security forces.
One individual was found without a head - additional victims were "severely damaged", he explained. Many also had what appeared to be stab wounds.
Over 120 individuals lost their lives in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.
The photographer stated that he initially learned to the raid Tuesday morning by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.
The photographer went to a local medical facility, where the bodies were being brought.
The eyewitness reported that law enforcement blocked media personnel from accessing the affected area, where the security measures were occurring.
"Security forces established a perimeter and declared: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."
But Itan, who was raised in the community, reported he was able to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he continued until dawn.
He reported during the night, local residents started looking the elevated terrain which divides Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members whose whereabouts were unknown following the security action.
Community members from the Penha area arranged the discovered victims in an open area - the photographer's images show the response of the people there.
"The violence of it all impacted me profoundly: the sorrow of the families, mothers fainting, women carrying children, sobbing, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered.
Bruno Itan
The state leader of the state announced that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 security personnel was designed to preventing an illegal organization known as the criminal faction from growing their influence.
Initially, state authorities maintained that sixty individuals and four police officers" were fatally injured in the raid.
They have since said that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 alleged criminals were fatally injured.
Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has calculated the overall count of casualties at 132.
According to researchers, the gang is the only criminal group that recently has managed to increase its control across the region.
Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, in company with First Capital Command, and has a history extending half a century.
According to Brazilian journalist a specialist, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio extensively, the criminal organization "works as a system" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and becoming "operational allies".
The criminal group concentrates largely on drug trafficking, additionally trafficking firearms, precious metals, fuel, liquor cigarettes.
Based on official reports, criminal affiliates are well armed and officials reported that while the action was underway, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.
The official of the state, the political leader, described gang affiliates as criminal extremists and called the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as "heroes".
Nevertheless, the total of people killed in the operation has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "horrified".
At a news conference the next day, the state leader defended the police force.
"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he declared.
He added that the events worsened because the suspects had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the resistance they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."
The state leader also said that the casualties shown by residents in Penha had been "manipulated".
Via a statement on online platforms, he claimed that some of them had been stripped of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation to security forces".
Felipe Curi from the police department also said that tactical gear, body armor, and arms" were taken away from the bodies and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating a person stripping military attire {off a corpse
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