Criminals invaded a residential complex and fought with rivals for two hours in Rio de Janeiro

Residents of a large housing complex in the Brazilian city of Duque de Caxias, one of the most important in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, were trapped in their apartments for two hours this Thursday, unable to go to work or take their affairs. children to school while criminals from rival gangs armed with military weapons exchanged gunfire between buildings. The popular condominium was invaded around 7:00 a.m. local time and 11:00 a.m. in Lisbon by a large group of heavily armed men, who were also shot at by members of a rival group holed up in the apartment complex located in the Jaqueira district.

For two hours, until almost 9 a.m., hundreds of innocent residents were caught in the firefight, unable to leave their apartments and trying to protect themselves in any way possible. Despite the violence and duration of the confrontation between the two criminal gangs, there appear to have been no casualties among the criminals or innocent residents, or at least none were reported as there is a law of silence in this place as everyone is afraid repression. ..if they say anything.

As soon as the shooting ended in Jaqueira, new clashes broke out between members of the two groups in the neighboring Pantanal district, this time in the middle of the streets, forcing shops, schools and other places to quickly close their doors. In the Pantanal, at least two public transport buses and three private cars were set on fire, with black smoke visible from afar.

According to little information provided by Duque de Caxias police, the clashes are part of an open war between criminals in the city who are fighting for control of drug trafficking in two neighborhoods. Only after the fighting ended did police send reinforcements to the Jaqueira and Pantanal areas, finally allowing residents to leave their homes, still fearing that more shootings would break out and that they might find themselves in the line of fire.