19/12/2025 – On Friday (19), beachgoers found a grenade on Macumba Beach in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Southwest Zone. The CORE Bomb Squad was called to the scene and successfully deactivated the explosive device. Local police from the 42nd DP are now investigating how the weapon ended up on the sand. This discovery adds to the 2025 security statistics for the region, which has seen several interventions involving the recovery of abandoned or illegal explosives in public areas.
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19/12/2025 – On Friday (19), a 39-year-old man was arrested in Santa Cruz, West Zone, for the murder and concealment of his wife, Karine Braz de Souza. The suspect confessed to stabbing the victim in August and hiding her dismembered body under concrete inside a rented shop. To cover his tracks, he had filed a false missing person report while attempting to clean the crime scene. This arrest concludes a months-long investigation and adds to the 2025 regional figures for femicide and violent crime.
19/12/2025 – On Friday (19), a 44-year-old man was arrested in Inhaúma, Rio de Janeiro, for transporting 4,300 pins of cocaine and 620 units of marijuana from Complexo do Alemão to Volta Redonda. Police intercepted the vehicle after it left the community at high speed, discovering the drugs—branded by the Red Command—hidden in the trunk. The driver confessed he was to be paid R$ 1,500 for the delivery, and his phone revealed coordination with traffickers dating back to November. This seizure adds to the state’s 2025 drug enforcement totals, which have seen a rise in intercity trafficking interceptions.
19/12/2025 – On Friday (19), a retired military police officer was arrested for assaulting his ex-wife and her friend at a bar in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Southwest Zone. The victim lost consciousness after being punched in the head, and her companion was struck with a pistol whip before the suspect fled the scene. Investigations revealed a history of domestic violence threats against his previous partner, leading to a preventive arrest warrant for crimes including stalking, injury, and coercion.
20/12/2025 – On Saturday (20), residents of Grajaú, North Zone, held a protest against rising violence following a shootout involving an off-duty officer and the recent murder of a 71-year-old merchant. Protesters marched from Praça Verdun to demand better patrols and intelligence technology to combat a reported 21% increase in street robberies this year. Official ISP data for 2025 also shows a 37% surge in phone thefts in the neighborhood, despite a significant drop in vehicle robberies.
20/12/2025 – On Saturday (20), the Rio-Niterói Bridge was completely shut down for over an hour after a man accessed the lanes on foot and climbed a signaling gantry. The rescue operation, coordinated by the Federal Highway Police (PRF), paralyzed traffic on major arteries including the Linha Vermelha and Avenida Brasil. The individual was safely removed and transported to a psychiatric hospital, with all lanes reopening in the early afternoon. This incident added to a day of significant logistical disruptions in Rio de Janeiro, following protests and security incidents across the city.
20/12/2025 – On Saturday (20), a shootout during an attempted robbery on Barão de Mesquita Street, in the Tijuca neighborhood, left one suspect dead and an elderly bystander wounded. The confrontation occurred when two criminals on a motorcycle targeted a luxury vehicle near an Army Police barracks, prompting military personnel to intervene.
21/12/2025 – On Domingo (21), a 15-km police chase from Bonsucesso to Rua da Passagem, Botafogo, South Zone, ended with one suspect dead and five others arrested. Members of a carjacking gang from Complexo do Alemão fled down Avenida Brasil, leading to a shootout where two suspects were wounded and three others were detained. Officers recovered a stolen vehicle, two revolvers, a replica rifle, and a GPS jammer used to block tracking signals. This high-speed pursuit highlights the ongoing struggle against specialized vehicle theft rings in the state throughout 2025.
22/12/2025 – On Monday (22), approximately 1,300 workers from the Vila Isabel and Real bus companies began a strike in Rio de Janeiro over unpaid salaries, benefits, and poor working conditions. The walkout paralyzed 24 bus lines, causing major transport delays at hubs like Terminal Gentileza and Central do Brasil. The Municipal Secretariat of Transport has ordered other consortia to increase their frequency to cover the affected routes while negotiations continue. This mobilization reflects a deepening financial crisis within the city’s bus companies that has persisted throughout the year.
23/12/2025 – On Tuesday (23), a large group of hundreds of motorcyclists caused significant disruption during an unauthorized “ride-out” on the Linha Amarela. Around 03h00, participants blocked a section of the expressway to set off fireworks, generating intense noise that sparked widespread complaints from residents. Despite the scale of the gathering and the resulting disturbance, the Military Police reported they were not called to the scene at the time of the occurrence.
23/12/2025 – On Tuesday (23), an attempted theft of 180 meters of underground cables left approximately 2,000 customers without power in Barra da Tijuca, Southwest Zone. This marks the 18th occurrence in the area since October, bringing the total number of affected residents to 60,000 and causing nearly R$ 900,000 in damage. According to the utility company Light, the service was interrupted for over two hours before being restored.
23/12/2025 – On Tuesday (23), an off-duty police officer thwarted an attempted robbery in the Lagoa neighborhood, South Zone. After being targeted, the officer reacted and shot the suspect, who was riding a motorcycle. Security footage shows the officer exiting his vehicle and holding the suspect at gunpoint while he remained on the ground. Teams from the “Lagoa Presente” security program arrived shortly after to provide support and secure the scene.
23/12/2025 – On Tuesday (23), 36-year-old Géssica Oliveira de Souza, who was pregnant, was stabbed to death inside the Rocinha community, South Zone. The victim was rushed to Miguel Couto Municipal Hospital but arrived without vital signs, displaying multiple marks of violence. Following the attack, the Capital Homicide Division identified her boyfriend as the primary suspect in what is being investigated as a femicide. The perpetrator was captured by police near the Novo Rio bus station while attempting to flee to the state of Minas Gerais.
24/12/2025 – On Wednesday (24), PM Sergeant Belk Viana Thomaz was killed during an attempted motorcycle robbery in Engenho Novo, North Zone, after being shot in the femoral artery during a confrontation. His death marks the second police fatality in the city within 24 hours, following the execution of retired officer Flavio Ferreira Mathias in Padre Miguel on Tuesday (23). These incidents bring the total number of military police officers killed in the state in 2025 to 53.
25/12/2025 – On Thursday (25), a woman died after being stabbed during a robbery inside a BRT bus near the Rubem Vaz station in Bonsucesso, North Zone. The victim was struck in the chest and taken to Salgado Filho Municipal Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries, while a second woman was treated and released. The incident occurred on the line connecting Deodoro to Terminal Gentileza and is currently being investigated by the Capital Homicide Division.
25/12/2025 – On Thursday (25), the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police launched a murder investigation following the discovery of the body of 34-year-old Sabina Saron Camila Mates in a burned-out building downtown. Although fire ravaged part of the residence on André Cavalcante Street, the victim was found in a hallway untouched by the flames, strengthening the theory of a crime followed by arson. Neighbors reported hearing a violent argument just before the fire started. The victim, a mother of two, worked as a street vendor in the Lapa district.
