9 die in stampede as Brazilian police clash with party crowd

Brazilian officials say police officers pursuing fleeing suspects clashed with people at a street party in a Sao Paulo slum, setting off a stampede in which nine people died. The state's security secretary says police were carrying out an operation when they were attacked by two men on a motorcycle and officers gave chase amid gunfire. The suspects fled into the street party in Paraisopolis.

Police spokesman Emiliano da Silva Neto told Globo news that officers were met with rocks and bottles and fired tear gas. People then tried to flee down a narrow street and some were trampled, with nine pronounced dead at a hospital Sunday. He says there were no excesses on the part of the police.

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