The number of people known to have been killed in a deadly police raid in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday has risen to 132, officials say.

This is more than double the figure cited after the police operation in the favelas (poor neighbourhoods) of Alemão and Penha, in the north of Rio de Janeiro, on Tuesday.

The public defender’s office, which provides legal assistance to the poor, made the new death toll public after grieving residents lay dozens of bodies in a square early on Wednesday.

The police raid was the deadliest in the city, where authorities have for decades tried to contain the gangs which control many of its poorer neighbourhoods.

Asked about the figure given by the public defender’s office, Rio state Governor Cláudio Castro said that forensic work was still under way and that until it had concluded, the official figure which he had been given was of 58 dead, although it was “certain to change”.

Among those expressing shock about the death toll was Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

According to Brazil’s justice minister, Lula was “astonished” and also expressed his surprise that the federal government had not been informed beforehand.

Even before the number of dead had more than doubled, the United Nations Human Rights office had said it was “horrified” by the police operation.

Early on Wednesday, residents took the bodies of those killed into a square in Penha, where they placed them next to each other in a long line to show the deadly nature of the raid.

According to Brazilian media, estimates varied between at least 50 and more than 70 bodies.

Many of the bodies had reportedly been retrieved from a nearby hillside, where police said most of the deadly clashes had unfolded.

Challenged by journalists about earlier remarks he had made describing those killed as “criminals”, Governor Castro replied: “To be quite honest with you, the conflict wasn’t in a built-up area, it was all in the woods. So I don’t believe anyone was just strolling in the woods on a day of conflict. And that’s why we can easily classify them.”

Residents described the scenes unfolding on Tuesday as “war-like”, with shoot-outs between officers and armed men – with buses set on fire to create barricades.

According to the police, gang members also used drones to drop explosives on the officers as they fanned out through the neighbourhoods, which are strongholds of the Red Command.

“This is how the Rio police are treated by criminals: with bombs dropped by drones. This is the scale of the challenge we face. This is not ordinary crime, but narco-terrorism,” Governor Castro, said.

Governor Castro said that the raid had been two months in the planning and was based on a thorough investigation.

Among those arrested is a man accused of being a leading drug dealer for the Red Command.

The governor also posted photos on social media of the four police officers who were killed in the operation.

He praised the officers killed on what he called “a historic day” in which he said they “confronted organised crime”.

Rafael Soares, a Brazilian journalist covering crime in Rio, told BBC News Brasil that the Red Command had been on the offensive in Rio in recent years, reclaiming territory it had lost to its rivals, First Capital Command (PCC).

Soares added that the police operation was part of Governor Castro’s efforts to leave his mark and deal a decisive blow to crime in the city ahead of elections next year.

The police raid also comes just days before the city is due to host the C40 World Mayors Summit – a meeting of nearly 100 mayors from the world’s leading cities – and the Earthshot Prize – the environmental award which will be handed out by Prince William on 5 November.

A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the death last year of a householder who had reported a suspected intruder.

Mother-of-two Sonya Massey, 36, was fatally shot on 6 July 2024 at her home near Springfield, Illinois, after calling 911 about a possible prowler.

Ex-officer Sean Grayson, 31, said he opened fire because he thought Massey was about to throw a pot of boiling water on him after she said: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

He was charged with first-degree murder, but the jury was allowed to convict him of the lesser charge of second-degree murder. Grayson faces up to 20 years in prison.

Police bodycam footage of the incident showed the chaotic moments that led to the shooting.

Officers arrived at the home and followed Massey inside when she entered her property, and watched as she searched for her ID.

In the video, Grayson sees a pot sitting on a lit stove, gestures towards it and says: “We don’t need a fire while we’re here.”

Massey walks to the stove to remove the cooking utensil. She and Grayson appear to laugh over her pot of “steaming hot water”, before she twice says: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

“You better [expletive] not or I swear to God I’ll [expletive] shoot you in your [expletive] face,” Grayson says. He then draws his pistol as he shouts for her to drop the pot.

“OK, I’m sorry,” Massey is heard saying before she ducks.

After shooting her, the officer says: “What else do we do? I’m not taking hot [expletive] boiling water to the [expletive] face.”

The video also captures Grayson telling his police partner that Massey would not need medical help.

As the other deputy tries to get a medical kit, the officer says: “She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a head shot.”

Sangamon County, where the shooting happened, awarded the Massey family a $10m (£7.6m) settlement in February.

Authorities have discovered new information changing the timeline of when they believe Academy Award winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died.

The couple were found dead in their New Mexico home last month with officials saying the pair had been dead for some time before they were discovered by neighbourhood security.

Officials initially said they believed Arakawa died on 11 February and Hackman died one week later.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office now says they have confirmed that Arakawa made multiple calls to a health clinic on 12 February for medical treatment, which the clinic told BBC she never was able to receive.

1:20Listen to the 911 call after two bodies found at Hackman residence

The sheriff’s office said they learned of the calls when they received cell phone data from her phone.

They said there were three calls made that morning to Cloudberry Health, a personalized concierge medical practice in the area. She received a fourth call, also from the clinic.

The sheriff’s office noted it never reported an official date of death for her and said that initially they’d stated that Arakawa’s last known activity was on 11 February. Authorities say she’d exchanged emails with a massage therapist and visited a grocery store, pharmacy and a pet store. Garage clicker data showed she returned home around 5:15 p.m. that day.

Dr Josiah Child, who leads Cloudberry Health, told the BBC that while the clinic had never treated Hackman or Arakawa, she had reached out for medical advice.

“She called and described some congestion but didn’t mention any respiratory distress, shortness of breath, or chest pain,” he said.

Arakawa initially had scheduled an appointment for 12 February but cancelled on 10 February, explaining that she needed to care for her husband, Dr Child said.

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On the morning of 12 February, she called again seeking treatment but because no doctor-patient relationship had been established, the clinic told her she needed to be seen in person.

“There were a couple calls back and forth to just schedule that appointment for the afternoon, but she never showed up,” Dr Child explained. “Our office called back several times and never got an answer.”

The couple were both found dead on 26 February.

Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell stated that “based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that [Betsy] passed away first.”

The Santa Fe medical examiner determined she died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare rodent-borne respiratory disease.

Authorities believe Hackman died on 18 February – the date of his last recorded pacemaker activity, which showed an abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation.

His cause of death was severe heart disease, with advanced Alzheimer’s disease listed as a contributing factor. Experts believe his Alzheimer’s may have prevented him from realising his wife of more than 30 years was dead in the home where he was living.

If he did, experts told the BBC, he likely went through various stages of confusion and grief, trying to wake her up before the disease caused him to become distracted or too overwhelmed to act – a process that likely repeated for days before he, too, died.

A necropsy report also revealed that one of the couple’s three dogs, which had been crated while recovering from surgery, died from starvation and dehydration.

As the investigation continues, representatives for Hackman and Arakawa’s estate have taken legal action to block the release of body camera footage and other visual evidence from their home when their remains were discovered.

A New Mexico judge has issued a temporary restraining order that prevents their release, with a hearing set for March 31.

Taken From BBC News

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2g1xvzg4ko