Police kill suspected gang leader in Ipiaú shooting
On Saturday, 18 May, police from the 55th Independent Company of the Military Police carried out a tactical patrol in the Irmã Dulce neighbourhood of Ipiaú, Bahia. They encountered a group of six to seven armed men. When the police approached, the suspects opened fire, prompting a firefight. One suspect, identified as 17‑year‑old Marruan Santos Bispo, a known leader of a local criminal faction with prior convictions and under investigation for a previous taxicab murder, was shot, taken to Hospital Geral de Ipiaú and later died. The remaining suspects fled. The incident is being investigated by local authorities.
Police said the operation was part of the Pelotão de Emprego Tático Operacional (PETO) actions aimed at curbing armed crime in the region.