🔗 Share this article The bodies just kept coming - photographer recounts lethal Rio security action The eyewitness Numerous victims were arranged in an open area in Penha following the bloodiest security action the municipality has experienced An eyewitness who documented the consequences of a massive security raid in the Brazilian city has reported how local people came back with disfigured remains of the deceased individuals. The victims "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan reported. Among them were law enforcement personnel. One individual had been decapitated - others were "completely mutilated", he said. Many also had what appeared to be blade trauma. More than 120 people were fatally injured during Tuesday's raid on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid in the city. More than 100 people were detained during the security raid Bruno Itan reported that he initially learned about the operation Tuesday morning by community members living in Alemão, who reached out telling him an armed confrontation was occurring. The reporter went to the healthcare center, where the victims were coming in. Itan explained that security forces stopped members of the press from entering the affected area, where the operation were taking place. "Police officers established a perimeter and announced: 'Media representatives doesn't get past here'." But Itan, who spent his childhood in that neighborhood, reported he managed to make his way past the security perimeter, where he continued through the night. He explained that evening, community members started looking the elevated terrain that separates the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members whose whereabouts were unknown following the security action. Residents of the Penha neighbourhood organized the located casualties in a public space - the photographer's images reveal the response of the people there. "The brutality of what occurred impacted me a lot: the pain of the families, women collapsing, expectant spouses, weeping, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered. Bruno Itan There was trauma in the community as residents found increasing numbers of casualties from the adjacent terrain The governor of Rio state announced that the massive police operation deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to stopping a gang called Comando Vermelho from growing their influence. At first, state authorities claimed that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the raid. They have since said that early calculations indicates that 117 individuals have been killed. The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to the poor, has calculated the total number of fatalities as 132. Based on expert analysis, 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. It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction nationally, together with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline extending half a century. Per correspondent a specialist, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city extensively, the criminal organization "functions as a network" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and serving as "commercial associates". The gang concentrates largely on drug trafficking, while also dealing in guns, gold, fuel, liquor and tobacco. Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and authorities stated that throughout the operation, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft. The governor of the region, the government representative, described organization participants as drug terrorists and referred to the security forces killed in the raid as brave public servants. Nevertheless, the total of fatalities in the operation has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "horrified". In a media appearance the next day, the official supported law enforcement. "There was no objective to result in deaths. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he stated. He further explained that the situation had escalated as the individuals had retaliated: "It resulted of the resistance they implemented and the disproportionate use of force from the gang members." The governor also said that the bodies displayed by locals in the area had been "tampered with". Through a message on online platforms, he asserted that certain victims had been removed of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement". A police official representing security forces also said that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and arms" were stripped from the bodies and presented video apparently demonstrating a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse