Police shootout at Rio de Janeiro favela kills more than 20

By DAVID BILLER and DIARLEI RODRIGUES
Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Rio de Janeiro have raided the Vila Cruzeiro favela in an operation that set off a fierce firefight. The state’s health secretariat says more than 20 people died Tuesday. Police say the operation was aimed at locating and arresting criminal leaders, some from other states. An early police statement said officers were fired on while preparing their incursion, one resident was shot and killed at the scene and 1 people were found wounded after the shootout. But a spokesperson for the state health secretariat later told reporters that 21 deaths were confirmed at a local hospital.