01/11/2022 – Burglars used the scaffolding of a construction site to break into an apartment of a building in Copacabana, South Zone. Two men forced the electronic gate and used the scaffolding to gain access to the property, which was on the first floor. The first criminal took eight minutes to descend with the first wave of the residents’ belongings. Then another incursion into the apartment and, in 10 minutes, they come down with two more bags. At the time of the escape, the bandits used the shirt to cover their face. In all, they spent half an hour inside the apartment, where a couple and their two children were sleeping.
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01/11/2022 – Security camera footage captured an attempted robbery on Bogari Street, in Lagoa, South Zone, which lasted just over 20 seconds. In the video, it is possible to notice that the criminal was wearing a mask. The bandits, who were in a popular car and followed a luxury vehicle. Then one of the criminals gets out and tackles the driver. One of the bandits tries to approach the driver of the car, who runs away. As the car was armored, the criminals were unable to complete the robbery.
01/11/2022 – Security camera footage captured an attempted robbery on Bogari Street, in Lagoa, South Zone, which lasted just over 20 seconds. In the video, it is possible to notice that the criminal was wearing a mask. The bandits, who were in a popular car and followed a luxury vehicle. Then one of the criminals gets out and tackles the driver. One of the bandits tries to approach the driver of the car, who runs away. As the car was armored, the criminals were unable to complete the robbery.
03/11/2022 – A driver and his assistant were rescued by the Military Police after being kidnapped by criminals who wanted the yogurt load they were carrying. The victims were in Campinho, in the North Zone, and were released at one of the entrances to Complexo do Lins, also in the North Zone. According to the Military Police, the driver and the assistant were on Domingos Lopes Street, near a market, around 7:00, where they would leave the load of perishables, when armed bandits surrendered the duo.
07/11/2022 – A woman was killed on Avenida Meriti, in the neighborhood of Vila da Penha, North Zone, in an attempted robbery. According to witnesses, she and a friend were in a vehicle when they were approached by criminals in another vehicle and in which they had tried to flee. According to the Fire Department, the 54-year-old victim was shot and died at the scene.
Our analysis:
For specialists at Instituto Sou da Paz, the increase in robberies followed by deaths may have been indirectly caused by factors such as the economic crisis, levels of inequality in the country and loss of income for Brazilians during the pandemic. For them, robberies followed by deaths are “robberies that went wrong” due to the fact that both the criminal and the victim got nervous, and, with that, any reaction can be fatal. Studies show that the percentage of death during robberies is very small, around 0.08%. That is, a tiny portion of the people robbed are killed. This demonstrates that the criminal does not want to kill, he wants someone’s belongings. There are some issues that influence this result. First, the victim reacts. 90% of people who react to armed robbery end up getting shot. The first mistake is made by the person who wants to react to the armed or unarmed assailant, because sometimes it is the partner who is providing cover who is armed. Second, it is the victims who try to escape the crime. For example, the motorcyclist or the driver of a car who accelerates to escape the robbery, or the pedestrian who wants to run. In such cases, there is a tendency for the criminal to shoot the victim. Third: the victim who makes a sudden movement and gives the impression to the criminal that they are reacting. There is also, in the small portion of cases of death, that criminal who has no skill with a firearm and, unintentionally, shoots the firearm or feels irritated with the victims and ends up killing them, which represents a very tiny percentage.
09/11/2022 – An attempted robbery of a military police officer ended in a shooting on Avenida Brasil, near the Parada de Lucas neighborhood, North Zone. According to information from the Secretary of State for Military Police (SEPM), criminals tried to rob the officer who was on the lane towards the West Zone and reacted which frustrated the action. The case did not end with arrests or injuries. Videos circulating on social media show the moment when drivers who were traveling along the avenue stopped and got out of their vehicles because of the shooting.
10/11/2022 – The Military Police carried out an “emergency operation” in the Nova Holanda favela, in Complexo da Maré, North Zone, to rescue a driver from a cargo truck who was being held hostage inside the community. According to the first information provided by the PM, he was passing along Avenida Brasil when he was surrendered and taken to the interior of the favela so that the cargo that was being transported could be stolen. It was the company that noticed that the vehicle was not following the route and alerted the police. Two people die and another was injured.
13/11/2022 – A man was filmed breaking into a house in Cascadura, North Zone. The criminal jumped over the wall of the residence, stole belongings from the residents who were sleeping and then fled. Security cameras filmed the thief during the action. In the video, it is possible to see that before entering the house, he squats down in front of a car parked on the street and fiddles with something. Then the thief breaks into the house, jumps the balcony and enters the residence. According to police, he took cell phones, documents, credit cards and money that were in bags and backpacks. According to investigations, the thief used one of the stolen cell phones to order an app drive. He took on the street near the invaded house and went to the Jacarezinho favela.
14/11/2022 – A robber was shot and killed by police after taking a man hostage during a bus robbery in São Conrado, South Zone. The victim, a 64-year-old man was also injured in the leg. Military police surrounded the bus where the criminal was after being alerted by a woman. When the bus was surrounded, the criminal took one of the passengers hostage. Videos recorded by pedestrians and residents show passengers running to get off the bus. When everyone is gone, the robber leaves with the hostage, with a pistol pointed at his head. The man continued running and, according to the police, was shot and killed while trying to climb the Rocinha community.
17/11/2022 – Civil Police officers arrested the head of the Terreirão community, in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, West Zone. Known as DG, he was part of Zinho’s militia. He was found after the police went to the community to verify the information that there would be armed militiamen, participating in a barbecue, in a bar in the place. A vehicle was also recovered, which was parked in front of the bar and had been stolen a week ago on the streets of Recreio.
18/11/2022 – A military police office reacted to a robbery in downtown Rio de Janeiro. He was approached by two men on two motorcycles on Riachuelo Street and reacted by shooting at the robbers. One of them was hit and rescued by the Fire Department. While the second criminal managed to escape.
20/11/2022 – Three days in a row of shootings between criminals and police in the Jacarezinho favela caused by criminals trying to regain control of the drug trade. On Friday (18), the shootings, in several parts of Jacarezinho, started in the morning. In the early afternoon, the shops on Rua Amaro Rangel closed their doors. The road is 450 meters from Cidade da Polícia and close to the bases used by the Cidade Integrada program. On Saturday (19), shots began to be heard before 5:00. Images on social media showed police officers from the Shock Battalion patrolling alleys in the locality and searching residents. Two military police officers from the Battalion of Actions with Dogs (BAC) were shot. On Sunday (20), the shootings left at least one dead and six people shot.
20/11/2022 – Civil Police are looking for the two men that assaulted two women at a restaurant in Copacabana, South Zone. According to the victims, one of the attackers said he was a police officer and punched the two women. Victims reported that it started when a young man approached the table where the two criminals were. According to them, the boy asked for food to the men who were talking. After the request, one of the attackers would have humiliated the young man, who was defended by one of the women. After the first assault, the woman began filming the aggressor. In the footage, he appears annoyed walking towards her and slapping her phone. The victim says she received another punch.
20/11/2022 – A dentist was shot in a robbery on Dois de Fevereiro Street, in Engenho de Dentro, North Zone. The criminals announced the robbery, he and his wife surrendered and, even so, he was shot. They took the victims’ car, documents and cell phones.
21/11/2022 – Police officers arrested a man who kept a Swedish citizen in private prison in the Babilônia community, in Leme, South Zone. The Swedish woman met the criminal in Pedra do Sal, in downtown Rio, 20 days ago and 10 days ago she moved in with him. She would return to Europe on Tuesday (22/11). According to the police, during the period, he started to get violent, and she said that she wanted to leave. He would then have withheld her apartment keys and her phone. On Saturday (19/11), the victim managed to send a message to friends she met on the beach, and they went to the police station to report it.
22/11/2022 – Two people were shot on Rodrigo Silva Street, in downtown Rio. The victims were in front of Nossa Senhora do Parto Church. The reason behind the shooting is still unknown. According to the Segurança Presente, a man passing on the street and a church employee were wounded by the shots.
23/11/2022 – A 46-year-old truck driver was shot in the head on Estrada do Taquaral, Vila Aliança, West Zone. He was carrying a freight from Minas to Rio with an assistant, when, on Avenida Brasil, the GPS informed him of an alternative route to get out of traffic.
Our analysis:
The cases of murder or attempted murder that took place on Wednesday (23/11) against a military police officer and a truck driver who mistakenly entered two favelas in Rio are no exception in the state. Since October 2021, there have been at least five other occurrences of shots fired at cars that ended up in communities due to inattention or lack of knowledge on the part of drivers – two people died and five were wounded. The context is mostly the same. Drivers enter favelas unaware of the risks and end up being attacked by members of criminal gangs, who fear attacks by rivals. The cases show the high risk of driving in Rio. Shortly before the 2016 Rio Olympics, on account of the succession of cases involving drivers who entered favelas by mistake, one of the main GPS apps, Waze, launched a resource that mapped 25 areas in which users “may be at greater risk of crime”. Drivers began to receive an alert when the route drawn included those regions.
24/11/2022 – A shooting between armed criminals in a car and the military police took place on Avenida Leonel Franco, in Gávea, South Zone. A criminal was injured. After the shooting, the police seized the car used by the criminals. In it, they found a gun, a magazine and ammunition.
TRENDS & ADVICE
- During summer months, mass robberies and thefts in touristic spots become the most prevalent security risks in Rio de Janeiro, specially in the city’s South Zone.
- Crowded beaches and its vicinities should be avoided.
- Avoid any display of wealth (jewelry, cell phones), but always carry a small amount of money (R$50) to hand over to muggers.
- In case of robbery: cooperate, do not try to run after the assailant as he or she might not be alone or turn violent.
- In the case of being in the immediate vicinity of a shootout:
- Lay on the ground and seek cover.
- When it is safe to do so, find the nearest building, stay away from windows, do not move unless you are sure that the gunfire has ended.
- Avoid walking alone in poorly lit areas or beaches after nightfall. Avoid walking through tunnels.
- Avoid the vicinity of crime-prone areas such as ‘communities’ (so-called ‘favelas’) and lower-income neighborhoods.
- Be always cautious, even in the areas considered safe such as Downtown, Botafogo, Copacabana and Ipanema. Exercise caution in the Centro during the day and avoid the area after nightfall and on Sundays.
