PM is shot dead in confrontation with criminals in favela in Rio

The sergeant of the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) of the Military Police, Ângelo Rodrigues de Azevedo, 48, was killed this afternoon (7) with a shot to the head in the Bateau Mouche community, in Praça Seca in the west zone of Rio , where drug traffickers and militiamen have been fighting for several days for dominance in the region. The soldier was rushed to the Getúlio Vargas State Hospital, in Penha, but he couldn’t resist the wound shot from a rifle. According to a PM advisory, BOPE teams were attacked by gunfire in the community’s forest area, during an action aimed at repressing the circulation of criminals in the region. There was intense confrontation and the policeman was hit. The sergeant had been with the corporation since 2000 and leaves a wife and three children. There is still no information on the time and place of burial. The Praça Seca region is formed by the communities of Rua Barão, Bateau Mouche and Chacrinha. The City Hall’s Rio Operations Center advises drivers to avoid the region, due to the partial closure of Rua Cândido Benício, at the height of the BRT station. Residents set fire to garbage and sticks and the atmosphere remains tense in the area. Bope teams continue to search the densely forested area in search of criminals. In a note, the Secretary of State for the Military Police mourned the death of Sergeant Azevedo.

Agência Brasil