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The photographer

A photographer who documented the aftermath of an extensive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has described how community members returned with badly injured victims of the deceased individuals.

The victims "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness reported. They included law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - others were "severely damaged", he said. Several bodies showed evidence of stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims lost their lives during the security action on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action in the city.

The photographer stated that he was first alerted concerning the action Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him informing him there was a shoot-out.

The reporter made his way to a local medical facility, where the bodies were arriving.

The photographer stated that the police prevented journalists from accessing the operation zone, where the police action was under way.

"Police officers formed a line and announced: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

But Itan, who spent his childhood in that neighborhood, stated he was able to make his way into the restricted zone, where he continued until the next morning.

He explained that Tuesday night, area inhabitants started looking the mountainous area that borders the Penha neighborhood from the neighboring Alemão community for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Local people living in Penha arranged the recovered bodies in an open area - and Itan's photos show the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of what occurred impacted me profoundly: the grief of the families, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, weeping, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The state leader of the state stated that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at stopping a gang referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

Originally, state authorities stated that "60 suspects along with four officers" were fatally injured in the raid.

Authorities later reported that early calculations suggests that 117 individuals have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to the poor, has put the final tally of casualties at 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang is the only criminal group which in recent years has managed to increase its control across the region.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction in Brazil, alongside First Capital Command, with a background extending half a century.

According to correspondent an expert, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio extensively, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and serving as "operational allies".

The gang engages primarily in drug trafficking, while also dealing in firearms, valuable minerals, fuel, liquor smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, gang members have substantial firearms and police said that during the raid, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.

The state leader of the state, the government representative, described organization participants as criminal extremists and referred to the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

However, the count of people killed in the operation has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "shocked".

During a press briefing the next day, Governor Castro justified security actions.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We aimed to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He continued that the events worsened as the individuals had retaliated: "It resulted of the resistance they carried out and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The governor further reported that the victims shown by residents in the area were "altered".

Via a statement on social media, he asserted that certain victims had been taken of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force also said that tactical gear, body armor, and arms" were taken away from the victims and presented video appearing to show a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse