A police operation in a favela in Rio de Janeiro killed at least 8 people

At least eight people were killed by police in Rio de Janeiro This Monday, during an operation in a favela north, according to the confirmation of the civilian police.

"Eight suspects died in an operation" in the Maré favela complex, a spokesman for the civilian police informed AFP, which has not revealed more details so far.

Images that have circulated on social networks and community channels show a helicopter flying over a group of precarious houses while they hear what seems to be shots.

A photo also shows a group of children, members of the Maré do Amanha symphony orchestra ("Maré del mañana"), take refuge in the hallway of the school to avoid contact with the outside and to be hit by a stray bullet.

Application OTT (Wave Tem Tiroteios, Where there is shooting in Portuguese), which informs in real time about the daily shots in Rio, alerted users to a shootout in the Maré favela complex shortly after noon.

The operation took place a few days after official figures revealed a record number of deaths (434) by the police during operations in the first quarter of this year. The state of Rio de Janeiro recorded a record number of deaths – an average of five per day.

This period coincides with the first three months of Governor Wilson Witzel's term, largely elected to align with President Jair Bolsonaro's "tough" policy of fighting crime.

According to figures from the Public Safety Institute (ISP), 434 people died "of the intervention of a state agent" between January and March, 17.9% more than those recorded during the same period in 2018.

In January 13 people died after a raid on a favela in central Rio, nine of them in the same house. The operation is being investigated on suspicion of torture and execution.

At the end of March, Governor Witzel acknowledged in an interview with the O Globo newspaper that the police were already using snipers to shoot at isolated suspects, an initiative that sparked controversy during the election campaign.