Residents found at least seven bodies, on Monday, in a mangrove swamp on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after an "intense" shootout during a police operation.
Rio de Janeiro state police stated that officers were investigating the grisly scene alongside forensics experts in the poor favela neighborhood of Salgueiro, around 35 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of the iconic beach city.
"The bodies were all thrown in the mangrove swamp. They had signs of torture, people tossed one on top of the other. It has all the signs of a massacre," a witness told Globo TV.
The clashes first erupted in the area Saturday, when a police sergeant on patrol was killed in an attack, according to the state police's statement. Then, Rio's Police Special Operations Battalion, or BOPE, raided the area Sunday.
"The BOPE executed an operation in Salgueiro Sunday after receiving information that one of the inpiduals involved in Saturday's attack was believed to be wounded and hiding in the area," police said.
Moreover, the police mentioned that they seized two pistols, ammunition, more than 800 bricks of marijuana, and more than 3,000 packets of a substance resembling crack cocaine in the raid.
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