Since the beginning of 2025, violence in Rio de Janeiro has forced health units to shut down 698 times, averaging almost three closures per day, according to a municipal document obtained by O Globo. The closures mainly affect Family Clinics and health posts, particularly in the North Zone, where clashes between rival factions and police operations are frequent. Some facilities, like the Herbert de Souza Family Clinic near Morro do Juramento and the Sylvio Frederico Brauner post in Costa Barros, are among the most impacted, with constant shootings disrupting services. Health workers describe daily exposure to gunfire, barricades, and even needing permission from traffickers to enter units, comparing their work conditions to those of a war zone.
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17/09/2025 – On Wednesday night (17/09), singer Diogo Melim and his wife, content creator Nanda Caroll, were victims of an armed robbery in Barra da Tijuca, in Rio’s Southwest Zone. The couple was returning from a birthday party when eight men on four motorcycles — at least three of them armed — forced them to stop on Avenida Lúcio Costa and stole their car along with personal belongings, including cell phones, wallets, and a VR headset. The case was first registered at the 16th DP (Barra da Tijuca), which is conducting investigations to identify the criminals.
19/09/2025 – On Friday (19/09), Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service launched Operation Carbon Chain, intercepting two ships carrying oil, condensate, and fuel worth R$240 million—one in Rio de Janeiro’s port and another in Alagoas. Authorities said the shipments, already cleared through customs, were seized due to the use of shell companies with no financial capacity, allegedly acting as fronts to hide the real importers. The investigation points to multi-billion-real tax fraud, possible money laundering, and the involvement of criminal organizations in the fuel sector. The operation also executed warrants in São Paulo, Amapá, and Paraíba, with Navy support, and is part of expanded efforts since 2023 to crack down on large-scale fraud in the market.
19/09/2025 – On Friday (19/09), Rio’s Civil Police Special Forces (Core) carried out an operation in the Cidade de Deus community, West Zone, to capture suspects linked to the murder of civil police officer José Antônio Lourenço. The action resulted in one man being killed and another arrested, both considered criminals by the police. The operation triggered an intense exchange of gunfire, with helicopters flying over the area. Officers seized a rifle, explosives, and a large quantity of drugs. Two other men were also taken by the police.
19/09/2025 – On Friday night (19/09), an off-duty Military Police sergeant was killed in Bento Ribeiro, North Zone, after resisting an attempted robbery. The officer was returning home by car with a friend when four armed men on two motorcycles surrounded them near the Marechal Hermes viaduct. After reacting to the assault, he was shot six times and later died at Carlos Chagas Hospital, while his companion was unharmed. The suspects fled without taking anything, and the case is under investigation by the Homicide Division.
22/09/2025 – On Monday afternoon (22/09), a woman was shot during a shootout in the Dois Irmãos community in Curicica, West Zone. She was rescued by firefighters and taken to the hospital in Barra da Tijuca, where her condition was reported as stable. Residents described an intense gun battle, with videos showing heavy gunfire and panic in the area. The Military Police stated that officers from the 18th BPM were deployed to contain a criminal dispute in the community.
22/09/2025 – On Monday night (22/09), a 53-year-old Military Police officer was found dead with gunshot wounds in the parking lot of an Assai supermarket in Gardênia Azul, Jacarepaguá, Southwest Zone. Firefighters were called at 18:40 to Avenida Ayrton Sena, where they found the victim already deceased. According to police records, he was a sub-lieutenant serving at the 31st BPM (Recreio dos Bandeirantes). The case is under investigation by the Capital Homicide Division.
23/09/2025 – On Tuesday morning (23/09), the Military Police carried out an operation in the Gardênia Azul community, Southwest Zone, one day after the execution of 53-year-old sub-lieutenant Sidney dos Santos Debossam. The officer, assigned to the 31st BPM, was killed on Monday night (22/09) in the parking lot of a supermarket on Avenida Ayrton Senna, in Jacarepaguá, when he was leaving the premises and was surrounded by hooded men armed with rifles. He was shot multiple times and died instantly.
23/09/2025 – On Tuesday afternoon (23/09), a major shootout erupted during a police operation in the Complexo da Pedreira, Costa Barros, in Rio’s North Zone. Criminals hijacked three buses to use as barricades and set fire to obstacles, temporarily trapping a Police Force armored vehicle. Amid the clashes, the car of a doctor working at the Costa Barros UPA was riddled with bullets while parked in front of the unit. All municipal health units were closed due to insecurity. Police reported the seizure of a rifle, while the area remains the scene of violent disputes between Red Command and Third Pure Command for territorial control.
23/09/2025 – On Tuesday (23/09), police in Rio de Janeiro apprehended a teenage offender in Penha, North Zone, who had fled officers during a July raid at rapper Oruam’s house, in the Joá neighborhood. The minor, identified as one of the founders of the “Equipe do Ódio,” a group specialized in car thefts and linked to the Red Command, had an open arrest warrant and faces an investigation for assaulting an ex-girlfriend. According to police, he resisted and fought with agents before being detained. His July escape occurred when Oruam and others attacked a police vehicle, allowing him to flee into the woods; he later turned himself in but failed to comply with court-ordered measures, prompting the new warrant.
24/09/2025 – On Wednesday (24/09), a police operation in Vila Kennedy, West Zone, left one suspect injured and four arrested, according to the PM. The action caused repeated blockades on Avenida Brasil by armed groups in protest, forcing reinforced policing and major traffic disruption. As a result, 14 public schools and two health units closed, while another suspended external services. The operation removed six barricade points and about 12 tons of material from the streets.
24/09/2025 – On Wednesday (24/09), armed criminals fleeing from a police operation invaded the Acalanto Municipal Nursery in Morro do Juramento, Vicente de Carvalho, North Zone. They hid at the back of the school before police arrived, and a classroom window was hit by gunfire while children were being moved under the Safe Access protocol, but no one was injured. The Municipal Education Secretary condemned the use of schools as escape routes, demanding a strong response from security forces. Earlier cases include a 7-year-old hit by a stray bullet in August, while official data show that between February and September, 508 municipal schools were forced to suspend activities at least once due to armed violence, affecting 170,000 students.
25/09/2025 – On Thursday (25/09), a man identified as a member of the “Bonde do Loirinho,” the largest car theft gang in Rio linked to the Red Command, was killed in a police shootout in Olaria, North Zone. In the stolen car where he was found, officers seized a rifle, a grenade, a GPS jammer, a bulletproof vest, and a pistol, while an accomplice managed to escape. He was under investigation for around ten recent car robberies in the South Zone, North Zone, and downtown, including the attack on Flamengo goalkeeper Rossi, whose armored car was hit by gunfire during an attempted robbery on the Linha Amarela in May.
26/09/2025 – On Friday (26/09), Rio police killed Edmilson Marques de Oliveira, known as “Cria,” one of the leaders of the Third Pure Command (TCP) in the Maré complex, North Zone. The Civil Police described him as “bloodthirsty and cruel,” with 222 criminal records and three arrest warrants. He was under surveillance for two months and accused of supplying arms, planning territorial invasions, and being among those responsible for the June 2024 ambush that killed two BOPE officers. During the raid in Vila dos Pinheiros, police seized rifles, pistols, ammunition, ballistic vests, and drugs. Shootouts led to the temporary closure of Linha Amarela as criminals gathered to support TCP’s war against rival Red Command.
26/09/2025 – On Friday (26/09), the Federal Police seized around half a ton of cocaine hidden in coffee sacks at the Port of Rio de Janeiro. The shipment, intercepted during a routine inspection with the support of sniffer dogs and the Federal Revenue Service, was destined for a European port, where it would have been distributed by transnational criminal groups. The action, coordinated by the Drug Enforcement Division (DRE/PF/RJ), is part of Operation Redentor 2 under the broader Redentor Mission, aimed at dismantling criminal organizations in Rio.
