Soldier killed, journalists attacked as violence continues in Rio

Despite assurances of security by the Brazilian authorities, incidents of violence have continued to occur in Rio, the city hosting the Olympic Games.

A soldier guarding the Olympic Games was killed, while a bus conveying journalists from the Games basketball venue to the main Olympic park was attacked, with three people sustaining injuries.

Mario Andrade, spokesman of Rio 2016, said the windows of the bus were shattered, but the cause remains unknown.

“We don’t know yet if it was stones or bullets. The police are investigating,” he told reporters.

Two soldiers also sustained life threatening injuries in the incident that left their colleague dead.

The soldiers came under attack when they mistakenly entered a drug lord-controlled slum close to Rio international airport.

In a video, which was shared on social networks, the soldier was taken at the moment the team was being rescued by the Lamsa police unit responsible for the Yellow Line expressway.

One of the soldiers also recorded an audio, before the rescue team arrived, which was also shared on social network sites, in which he said: “I was hit”.

“Captain Allen was hit. The driver was hit. Another was also shot and was outside the vehicle.

“A taxi driver is helping us and is taking me to hospital. The driver entered the Vila do Joao and the guys started shooting and hit the vehicle.

“I think the driver was shot from the front, because he wasn’t able to get himself out of the truck.”

According to the Forca Nacional, soldiers have secured the entrance to the favela, where investigations are being carried out.

Various incidents of violence have been recorded in the Olympics, which started less than a week ago.

On Saturday, Tiago Brandao Rodrigues, Portugal’s education minister, was assaulted at knife point by two men demanding his money and cellphone.

The minister had been watching Olympic cycling.

A 26-year-old man was arrested along the beach front and the victim’s belongings were returned to him, the police said in a statement.