In Under 24 Hours, Four Police Officers Killed and Five Wounded in Rio

02/24/2015 - 10h21

Nine police officers were shot in Rio in a period of less than 24 hours beginning on Saturday (21) afternoon, with four of the incidents being fatal.

The most recent occurred on Sunday (22) afternoon, when a police officer was killed during an attempted robbery in Barra da Tijuca, in the west of the city, after being shot five times close to the Praia dos Amores beach.

He was taken to the Hospital Lourenço Jorge, but died from his injuries.

The wave of violence began on Saturday (21), in the municipality of Mesquita, in the Baixada Fluminense, when a civil police officer was shot several times during an attempted robbery.

He was taken to the Hospital das Clínicas in Nova Iguaçu in the same region, but later died from his injuries.

On Saturday (21) night, three officers from a UPP (Pacifying Unit) in Chatuba, in the Complexo da Penha, in the north of Rio, were shot in a gunfight with drugs traffickers.

They were patrolling the area when they were ambushed; they fired on their attackers in response.

One of the officers was shot in the foot, another in the left arm, and the third received a flesh wound to the ear.

All were taken to the local Hospital Estadual Getúlio Vargas. Two have already been released, though the officer who was wounded in the arm remains in hospital.

In the early hours of Sunday (22) morning, three off-duty military police officers were attacked by armed men as they left a bakery in the center of Nova Igauçu.

They were taken to hospital, though one of the officers later died from his injuries.

According to the Military Police, the three officers belonged to the Rocinha UPP, the 24th Battalion ("Queimados") and the Highway Police Battalion (BPRv), respectively.

Also on Sunday (22) morning, a civil police officer was killed in an attempted robbery in Cubando, in the municipality of Niterói, in the Rio Metropolitan Area.

He was approached by armed suspects who opened fire upon realizing he was a police officer. He was taken to the Hospital Estadual Azevedo Lima, but later died from his injuries.

The Military Police said that it is sending reinforcements to the areas where the incidents occurred, and the Civil Police's homicide division has been notified in the cases where officers were killed.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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