RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Brazilian authorities have arrested two military police officers accused of taking part in a killing spree that left at least 30 dead on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night.
The killings, which are suspected of being a response to a crackdown on
corrupt police officers earlier the same day, were the worst massacre in more than a decade in the increasingly violent seaside city.
Police arrested and jailed the two men, identified only as Jose Felipe and Fabiano Lopes, based on witnesses' descriptions. The two denied taking part in the killings.
"If necessary, we will call in the witnesses to identify them personally," said Alvaro Lins, head of the Rio de Janeiro state's investigation force.
Men, women and children were killed at random on Thursday night in Baixada Fluminense on Rio's rough north side.
Rio state authorities said outlaw police likely carried out the massacre in reprisal for the arrests of eight officers suspected of a separate double murder. In that case, police were filmed throwing the severed head of one victim over the wall of a police station.
The arrests were part of a drive against corruption and criminal activity by police in a city that is on the verge of social breakdown despite being a spectacular tourist destination.
Police said they had found a motorcycle without license plates, a shotgun and a .38-caliber gun - the same as the type used in the massacre - in one of the suspects' homes. The two suspects were on medical leave.
- REUTERS
