Brazil is hiring a team of sharpshooters equipped with high profile weapons and a license to kill in order to stop criminal movements in the country.
Homicides in Rio spiked to an eight-year high of 5,346 last year, while robberies and muggings have more than doubled since 2011.
a security adviser said that as many as 120 sharpshooters will join police patrolling the city’s slums to wipe out gun-toting criminals. The shooters will work in pairs — one pulls the trigger while the other videotapes deaths.
“The protocol will be to immediately . . . slaughter anyone who has a rifle,” said Witzel, a federal judge, and former Brazilian marine. “Whoever has a rifle isn’t worried about other people’s lives, they’re ready to eliminate anyone who crosses their path.’’
Human rights groups have criticized the intervention, saying it's disproportionately impacting people, particularly blacks, in poor neighborhoods.
