Rio de Janeiro: Deaths in massacres up 50% in a year in metropolitan area

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The number of people killed in massacres in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro between 2020 and 2021 jumped from 170 to 255, an increase of 50%.

The institute defines as a massacre any incident in which 3 or more civilians are killed in the same situation. In the same period, the number of massacres increased from 44 to 61, up 39%.

Among the 61 massacres in 2021, 46 occurred during police operations, resulting in 195 deaths. The platform’s data is fed with notifications from users and news in the press.

Last year, two police operations were marked by a high number of deaths. In the first, in the Jacarezinho favela in May, in the northern zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, 27 civilians were killed. In the second, in November, in the Complexo do Salgueiro, São Gonçalo, 8 bodies were found in a mangrove.

In a year, the number of security agents shot rose from 142 to 181, an increase of 27%. Lethality also increased – 82 died, 52% more than in 2020 (54).

In contrast, shootings in the metropolitan region remained virtually stable. There were 4,653, compared to 4,585 in 2020. On average, there were 13 shootings per day throughout 2021.

In all, 2,098 people were shot, up 17% from 2020, with 1,795. 2021 also posted a 21% increase in the number of people killed and a 13% increase in injuries over the year before.

Of the 4,653 shootings, motives were identified in 1,985 of them. The main reasons for the shootings were police actions or operations (1,354), homicides or attempted homicides (348), robberies or attempted robberies (276), arguments (114) and fights (32).

Some 32% of the gunfire exchanges (1,510) occurred within a 300-meter radius of a health care facility. On average, 4 shootings per day were registered near these facilities, one of them during police action.

Of the 4,190 health units in the metropolitan region, 1,688 were affected by shootings in their surroundings.

In 2021 there were also 444 shootings or gunfire near transportation hubs, a figure roughly the same as in 2020 (440).

Highways were the most affected, accounting for 62% (274) of records. Next came BRTs (125), trains (108), subway (33) – only the underground part of Line 2, between Cidade Nova and Pavuna-, and VLT (3).

Among the 21 municipalities comprising the metropolitan region, the city of Rio accounted for 54% of shootings (2,510). Next come São Gonçalo (649), Duque de Caxias (322), Belford Roxo (279) and Niterói (253).

The 5 most affected neighborhoods were Praça Seca, Vila Kennedy, Tijuca, Olavo Bilac (in Duque de Caxias) and Complexo do Alemão.

In the state capital, the northern zone was the most impacted by armed violence, with more shootings (1,418) than the western zone, downtown and southern zone combined.