Vila Cruzeiro shootout

The Vila Cruzeiro shootout (Portuguese: chacina da Vila Cruzeiro)^[6] took place on 24 May 2022 in the favela of the same name in Rio de Janeiro, during a joint operation by the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE), the Federal Police and the Federal Highway Police^[7] that resulted in at least 26 people killed by gunshots or cutting objects. It was the second most lethal police operation in the city of Rio de Janeiro, second only to the Chacina do Jacarezinho, which occurred a year earlier.^[8]

According to BOPE, the operation aimed to arrest more than 50 traffickers from the Comando Vermelho from various states who were heading to Rocinha favela. The undercover police team was discovered around 4pm and the MP carried out an emergency operation involving 80 officers and 26 members of the Federal Highway Police. The shootout dragged on for hours until it reached the woods of Serra da Misericórdia, which connects Vila Cruzeiro to Complexo do Alemão, where most of the victims were shot. They seized 13 rifles, 12 grenades, 4 pistols, 10 cars and 20 motorbikes. The victims were transferred to Hospital Estadual Getúlio Vargas. The Military Police state that the faction is very active, responsible for 80% of the confrontations in Rio.^[9] Besides Rio de Janeiro, the victims also came from other states, such as Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Amazonas and Pará.^[10]

The operation took place during the term of Governor Cláudio Castro. In just one year, 39 massacres occurred in the state, leaving 182 dead. Only in the region where the operation took place, four massacres occurred in one year, leaving 42 dead.^[11]