An individual took bus passengers hostage Tuesday at the main bus station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and left at least two people shot and wounded, police said.
The area has been cordoned off and agents from the Special Operations Battalion (BOPE), an elite unit,
are “conducting negotiations on site
,” the military police in Rio (south-east) said in a statement.
According to media reports, around fifteen people are being held hostage.
“A man shot two people and took hostages on a bus at the Novo Rio bus station
,” police said, adding that the injured were taken to a hospital.
Great confusion
Images from the
GloboNews
channel show that the greatest confusion reigns in this large bus station in the center of Rio, from which coaches depart serving other regions of Brazil.
“A man drew a gun, started shooting and entered the bus.
I have two friends on this bus, everyone is desperate, we don’t know what will happen
,” said a witness on this channel.
In 2000, a hostage-taking of bus passengers in a residential area left two people dead.
The episode was broadcast for hours live on television, causing immense excitement, and inspired a film,
“Parada 174”
.
More recently, in 2019, a man was shot dead by police after holding around thirty bus passengers hostage on the huge bridge linking Rio de Janeiro to the town of Niteroi, a nerve center of traffic in the region. .