The men of this unit raided the Zetouliou Vargas hospital on Saturday, September 21, in the early hours of the morning, a few hours after Agatha Felix was killed in the Alemaou slum. According to eyewitnesses, the girl was injured during a police raid, when one of its officers opened fire on a motorcyclist and accidentally hit the child.
Agatha later succumbed to her illness at the hospital.
According to the magazine, the doctors refused to hand over the bullet to the police and some of them are afraid that they will retaliate.
The Special Operations Unit (Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais, BOPE) has assured that it is normal for staff to go to hospitals after operations with injuries. However, he added that an internal investigation had been launched into the "possible misconduct" of members of the group involved, within the limits of the wider investigation.
City police, however, said there were no reports of an attack.
Agatha was the fifth child to be killed in 2019 by police in Rio. Her death sparked outrage in the Brazilian metropolis, where the issue of police violence is growing.
In the first eight months of 2019, police killed 1.249 people in Rio, according to official figures, a number increased by 20% compared to the same period last year, or about 5 a day. This number is the highest recorded since the State began maintaining its current database in 2003.
Far-right President Zaich Bolsonaro and Rio Gov. Rio Wilson Witsel, who have called for tougher crackdowns on criminals, have been criticized by some as saying their statements gave the police the green light to shoot.