A gang of criminals, equipped with heavy weapons and explosives, sowed terror on Monday, August 30 in a city in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo to rob two banks, going so far as to position hostages on the roofs of their homes. cars to protect their escape.
The savage team, images of which were broadcast by local channels, left three dead, including an assailant, and at least six injured, police said.
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Shortly after midnight, several dozen heavily armed men, according to local media, took to the streets of central Araçatuba, a town of 200,000 inhabitants, located 500 km northwest of Sao Paulo, using drones and explosives. and hostages as human shields.
The attackers moved around firing rifles and threatening several hostages.
After robbing two bank branches, they fled by installing people on the roofs and hoods of their moving vehicles, according to images broadcast by local channels.
380 police officers deployed
They had also positioned explosives at various points in the city and surrounded certain police stations to delay the arrival of reinforcements.
They wore "
bulletproof vests, guns and helmets,
" they looked like "
soldiers,
" a witness told Globo TV on condition of anonymity.
“
The scenes of terror experienced by the population of Araçatuba will not go unpunished.
Two criminals were captured and a third was killed in a confrontation with the police,
”said Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, who ordered the deployment of 380 police officers to search for the fugitives.
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Brazil has experienced in recent years other similar heists, carefully prepared, with heavy weapons, and carried out in medium-sized cities to ensure an exit and a large loot in the coffers of the banks. Last December, two thefts of the same type, one day apart, were recorded in towns in the interior of the states of Pará (north) and Santa Catarina (south). A few months earlier, the cities of Botucatu and Ourinhos, in the state of São Paulo, had experienced similar robberies. According to the Sao Paulo security secretariat, the two cases have been resolved and “
a good part of these gangs are in prison
”.
