Mum Raquel Tomas claimed police in Brazil decapitated her son and then “hung the head from a tree like a trophy” and added “they executed” him without giving him a chance to defend himself
Brazilian police have been accused of beheading a teenage gangster as part of a bloody crackdown in the days before the country hosts Cop30 and Prince William.
Officers were accused of hanging the gangster’s head from a tree following the bloodiest favela raid as police aim to put an end to gang violence. In response to the crackdown, gangs bombed police with drones.
State officials have put the death toll at 119, of whom 115 are suspected gangsters and the remaining four being police officers. Residents of the Complexo da Penha favela accused police of horrific crimes following the Rio de Janerio raid.
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Mum Raquel Tomas claimed her son was decapitated by police. She told local media: “They slit my son’s throat, cut his neck, and hung the head from a tree like a trophy. They executed my son without giving him a chance to defend himself. He was murdered.”
She continued: “Everyone deserves a second chance. During an operation, police should do their job, arrest suspects, but not execute them.”
The controversial crackdown began in the days before Brazil hosts Prince William and other world leaders at the COP30 summit on November 11. A police spokesperson justified the crackdown, noting the violence against officers.
He added: “This is how the Rio police are treated by criminals: with bombs dropped by drones,’ said a police spokesperson. This is the scale of the challenge we face. This is not ordinary crime, but narco-terrorism.”
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said action was needed to tackle gangsters who endanger civilians. He said on X/Twitter: “We cannot accept that organized crime continues to destroy families, oppress residents, and spread drugs and violence throughout the cities.
“We need coordinated work that strikes at the backbone of drug trafficking without putting innocent police officers, children, and families at risk.” Prince William will travel to Brazil next week with the world’s eyes expected to be focused on the country.
A source previously told The Mirror: “After the unprecedented bloodshed during fierce intergang fighting, the government has drafted in thousands more officers and the military. All eyes will be on Rio while William is there, and there is genuine concern that violence will erupt again while he is in Brazil.”