In the Brazilian city of Salvador, at least 13 individuals have been killed in a shootout that took place between police and the suspects of an attempted armed robbery.

According to the BBC, the officers involved, who began to fire on the suspects after being shot at, said they arrived at the scene following a tip-off that a gang planned to rob a bank.

The gang consisted of 16 members, all of whom were hit in the incident. The wounded would-be robbers were rushed to a nearby hospital.

Thirteen of them died, and two were seriously hurt.

No officers died during the exchange, according to the Brazilian police. Though, there was one officer who was hurt.

The shooting incident is under investigation. In the past, the police has been criticized for being excessive in trying to control crime in the Latin American country.

With the upcoming summer Olympic Games in 2016, Brazil is cracking down on criminal activity in order to assure the safety of potential tourists.

On Feb. 5, a woman named Ivete Medeiros, a merchant located in Belém, was checking out an issue, which turned out to be a hold-up, near the supermarket that she was leaving. She was hit by a stray bullet, according to The Guardian.

She survived the incident since the bullet was deflected by the under wire of her bra.

In Rio de Janeiro, a 4-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy were killed by stray bullets last month. There were about a dozen other victims at the scene.

In 2011, 12 children, ages 12-14, were killed and a dozen others seriously wounded after an armed man entered a Municipal School.

The Guardian cites recent police statistics to show that stray bullet incidents have continued to rise. In 2013, there were 111 people hit by stray bullets, a number that was 81 in 2011.

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