Task force searches for criminals after attack on community in São João Batista A man identified as Joelson Braga Araújo, suspected of participating in the attack that killed a pregnant woman and her 4-year-old son, died after a confrontation with police teams in the village of Arrebenta, in the rural area of ??São João Batista. The information was confirmed this Sunday (12) by the State Secretariat for Public Security of Maranhão (SSP-MA). According to the secretariat, Joelson wore an electronic ankle bracelet as per court order. The SSP-MA did not say why he was being monitored or detail the circumstances of the confrontation. ? Click here to follow the new g1 Maranhão channel on WhatsApp The victims, Samira Costa Correia, who was three months pregnant, and Yan Kaleb Costa Santos, were found charred inside a burned-out house on Friday (10). According to police, armed men invaded the property, fired several shots and set fire to the place. Witnesses reported that approximately 15 men participated in the attack. The Military Police found around 100 cases of ammunition already fired at the scene. There were 9 mm, .38, .40 and 12 caliber materials. Expert examinations have already been carried out and should clarify whether Samira and Yan died as a result of the gunshots or the fire. Searches continue in the region, with the participation of teams from the Civil Police, Military Police, Official Forensics, Air Tactical Center (CTA), Kennel and intelligence sectors. Other suspects have already been identified and are still being sought. The victims were identified as Samira Costa Correia and Yan Kaleb Costa Santos Reproduction/Social Networks Suspects had already been identified According to Augusto Barros, police are searching for the suspects in the region. The names were not disclosed to avoid compromising the investigations. "We already have the identification of those involved. We have people working to look for them in the region and teams doing all the intelligence work so that we can give society a quick and firm response", said the delegate. The police did not say how many suspects were identified nor did they detail the role of each one. The target and motivation for the attack are still being investigated, and one of the hypotheses is that the crime is related to a dispute between criminal factions (see below). A task force was created on Saturday (11) to investigate crime and the activities of criminal groups in the region. The work brings together teams from the regional police station, Military Police battalions, intelligence sectors from the Public Security Secretariat and the State Superintendency of Criminal Investigations (Seic). According to the general delegate, the operation is not just focused on identifying those responsible for the deaths. Security forces must also map members, leaders and ways in which criminal factions operate in Baixada Maranhense. Motivation is still being investigated The Civil Police are working with different hypotheses to clarify who the target of the attack was and what motivated the crime. One of the lines of investigation points to a possible dispute between criminal factions. According to the general delegate, the police are investigating information that a person close to the victims could have links to a criminal group and has been accused of changing factions or betraying the group. The delegate highlighted, however, that the versions have not yet been proven. "There is a lot of speculation and a lot of rumors that mix with other versions, sometimes creating different versions. So, our job is to gather all this information and work on all the points of each version until we actually understand what happened", he explained. According to family members, Josef Abreu Santos, Samira's partner and Yan's father, was seen in the house shortly before the attack. According to the SSP, he was interviewed as part of the investigations. Witnesses reported to the police a possible connection between Josef and a criminal group. The information has not been proven and is part of one of the lines of investigation. g1 was unable to contact him until the last update of this report. The search for the suspects continues in the rural area of ??São João Batista and in municipalities in the region. The Civil Police reported that new information will be released as the investigation progresses.