PMs mistake wood for a rifle, shoot and kill scavengers in Rio, report residents

A collector of recyclable materials was shot dead this Thursday morning (05), during an operation by the Military Police in Cidade de Deus, in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro.

According to residents, Dierson Gomes, 50, was carrying a piece of wood when he was shot. The object would have been mistaken for a gun.

According to the Military Police, during the operation taking place in the region to repress organized crime, police officers were shot at and even learned a 5.56 caliber rifle.

Still according to the PM note, when passing through a conflagrated area, police officers came across a man carrying what appeared to be a rifle, hanging from a bandolier. The military fired and the man ended up wounded and killed.

The PM also stated that an investigation procedure was instituted by the corporation to investigate the circumstances and that the police officers’ weapons were seized for expertise.

The Civil Police reported that it carried out an investigation at the place where the collector of recyclable materials was killed and that the agents involved in the action are being heard, as well as witnesses. Steps are also being taken to clarify the facts.

According to witnesses, the man suffered from mental problems and had the habit of walking with the piece of wood next to his body.

PM’s note in full:

The Press Office of the State Secretariat of Military Police informs that the Corporation’s command has already instituted an investigative procedure to investigate the circumstances that fatally victimized a man in the Cidade de Deus Community, in the West Zone of the City of Rio.

Since the beginning of the morning of this Thursday (5/1), teams from the 18th BPM (Jacarepaguá), with the support of the Special Operations Command (COE) – through the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) and the Action Battalion with Dogs (BAC) – carry out an operation in the Cidade de Deus Community. Among the objectives, the arrest of criminals who work in organized crime in that locality and commit several robberies in the region, in addition to also apprehending firearms and recovering stolen vehicles.

During the actions, the police were attacked by gunfire at various points in the community and BOPE teams seized a 5.56 caliber rifle.

According to police officers from the 18th BPM, a team from the unit was traveling through the Pantanal, a historically troubled area, when they came across a man carrying what appeared to be a rifle, hanging from a bandolier. The police fired shots and hit him. The wounded man did not resist. The area was isolated and the Homicide Police Station of the Capital was called in for an investigation.

In addition to the established internal procedure, the SEPM cooperates fully with the investigations of the Civil Police. The police officers will be identified and the weapons presented for forensics.