🔗 Share this article The casualties continued piling up - reporter shares deadly Rio police raid The photographer Dozens of bodies were laid out in a square in the Rio neighborhood after the bloodiest security action Rio has ever seen A reporter who observed the results of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how residents brought back badly injured victims of people who lost their lives. The casualties "kept piling up: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness stated. Among them were those of police officers. One of the bodies was discovered headless - others were "completely mutilated", he said. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be knife injuries. Over 120 individuals were killed during the security action against a criminal group - the bloodiest action in the city. Over 100 individuals were detained as part of the police action The eyewitness explained that residents first notified him about the operation early on Tuesday by residents living in Alemão, who contacted him informing him there was a shoot-out. The eyewitness made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were coming in. The photographer stated that security forces prevented journalists from entering the affected area, where the operation were taking place. "Police officers formed a line and announced: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'." But Itan, who spent his childhood in the community, explained he was able to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained until the next morning. He reported during the night, community members began to search the hillside that borders the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones who were unaccounted for since the police raid. Local people living in Penha proceeded to place the recovered bodies in an open area - the documented evidence reveal the response of the gathered crowd. "The brutality of the situation shook me a lot: the pain of loved ones, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, sobbing, furious relatives," the photographer recalled. Bruno Itan There was disbelief in the community as residents retrieved more and more bodies from the surrounding area The governor of the region stated that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 officers was designed to stopping a criminal group known as Comando Vermelho from expanding its territory. At first, state authorities stated that "60 suspects and four police officers" lost their lives in the raid. Officials subsequently stated that early calculations suggests that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured. The legal assistance organization, which provides legal assistance to the poor, has put the final tally of casualties at 132. According to researchers, the gang represents the unique criminal entity which in recent years has been able to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction nationally, together with First Capital Command, with a background extending half a century. According to Brazilian journalist an expert, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio for years, Red Command "works as a system" with area gang 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. Per law enforcement statements, gang members are well armed and police said that throughout the operation, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft. The official of Rio state, the political leader, described gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and called the security forces fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals. However, the count of casualties in the security action has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials stating they were "horrified". During a press briefing on Wednesday, Governor Castro defended the police force. "We did not plan to cause fatalities. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he stated. He continued that the circumstances had escalated due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It resulted of the resistance they carried out and the overwhelming response by those criminals." The governor also said that the bodies presented by community members in Penha had been "manipulated". Through a message on social media, he asserted that some of them had been stripped of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame onto the police". Felipe Curi from the police department further reported that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and firearms" were taken away from the victims and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating a person stripping military attire {off a corpse