Five die in shootout between gang and Brazil police
A shootout between Brazilian police and Rio de Janeiro gang members has left five suspects dead near the famed Copacabana beach.
Police said the suspected thieves killed were trying to rob a car in the Copacabana district when they were spotted by a police patrol.
Police Colonel Marcus Jardim told Globo's G1 website that the shootout closed a busy tunnel and forced owners to close their shops.
Local media said the alleged thieves were trying to rob the car in order to escape police occupying the nearby Rocinha shantytown in an anti-gang operation.
