Rio police said Tuesday they killed three alleged gunmen in a raid on a favela dominated by drug traffickers where an elite police officer was shot a week ago.
The raid by heavily armed officers on the Vila do Joao area in the Complexo da Mare favelas was aimed at apprehending suspects in the killing of the National Force member, police said.
"In the action today, a few meters from where police officer Helio was killed, teams from CORE (elite police) entered a confrontation with about eight armed criminals," a statement said.
"Four of them were shot, three of them dying from their wounds," the statement said.
A fourth wounded man was taken into custody, along with two other people on charges including possession of a stolen car, drug trafficking and possession of ammunition.
Shootings, often deadly, are a regular occurrence in Mare and many other favelas in Rio, despite the presence of tens of thousands of police and army reinforcements during the ongoing Olympics.
Much of the Mare is controlled by drug traffickers and the National Force officer died when he and other agents mistakenly turned into the neighborhood, running into a barrage of bullets.
Rio police said Tuesday they killed three alleged gunmen in a raid on a favela dominated by drug traffickers where an elite police officer was shot a week ago.
The raid by heavily armed officers on the Vila do Joao area in the Complexo da Mare favelas was aimed at apprehending suspects in the killing of the National Force member, police said.
“In the action today, a few meters from where police officer Helio was killed, teams from CORE (elite police) entered a confrontation with about eight armed criminals,” a statement said.
“Four of them were shot, three of them dying from their wounds,” the statement said.
A fourth wounded man was taken into custody, along with two other people on charges including possession of a stolen car, drug trafficking and possession of ammunition.
Shootings, often deadly, are a regular occurrence in Mare and many other favelas in Rio, despite the presence of tens of thousands of police and army reinforcements during the ongoing Olympics.
Much of the Mare is controlled by drug traffickers and the National Force officer died when he and other agents mistakenly turned into the neighborhood, running into a barrage of bullets.
