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Bruno Itan

An eyewitness who observed the aftermath of an extensive Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has described how local people came back with badly injured victims of the deceased individuals.

The casualties "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer described. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim was found without a head - others were "severely damaged", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what he described as stab wounds.

More than 120 people were killed in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness stated that residents first notified him concerning the action Tuesday morning by residents living in Alemão, who reached out telling him gunfire had erupted.

The photographer went to the healthcare center, where the casualties were being brought.

Itan explained that the police prevented journalists from accessing the affected area, where the security measures was under way.

"Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and announced: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

But Itan, who grew up in the community, reported he succeeded to enter past the security perimeter, where he stayed until the next morning.

He reported that evening, area inhabitants commenced searching the elevated terrain which divides the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for relatives who had been missing since the police raid.

Community members living in Penha arranged the discovered victims in a square - the documented evidence show the response of those present.

"The violence of it all shook me deeply: the sorrow of relatives, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, sobbing, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The state leader of the state stated that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 security personnel was designed to stopping a criminal group referred to as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

At first, local officials stated that sixty individuals along with four officers" lost their lives in the operation.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has put the final tally of people killed as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization is the only criminal group which in recent years has been able to increase its control across the region.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, in company with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

Per Brazilian journalist an expert, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio extensively, the gang "works as a system" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and acting as "commercial associates".

The organization focuses mainly on drug trafficking, while also dealing in weapons, precious metals, energy resources, liquor smoking products.

According to the authorities, organization members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that during the raid, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.

The state leader of Rio state, the government representative, described gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and described the security forces killed in the raid as brave public servants.

However, the count of fatalities in the operation has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "horrified".

During a press briefing the next day, the state leader justified security actions.

"We did not plan to kill anyone. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he stated.

He added that the circumstances intensified as the individuals had retaliated: "It resulted of the counterattack they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The governor additionally stated that the casualties displayed by locals in the area had been "tampered with".

Via a statement through digital channels, he asserted that particular individuals had been removed of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi representing security forces additionally stated that tactical gear, body armor, and arms" had been removed from the casualties and showed footage appearing to show a person stripping military attire {off a corpse