Police in Rio de Janeiro said they shot and killed a mugger near a stadium where the Rio Olympics opening ceremony was held, and a woman was also killed near another Olympic site.
A man was mugging people near Maracanã Stadium when he was shot by a police officer on Friday, police confirmed.
“The man was carrying out assaults when a military police officer… shot him,” the statement from police read, according to the AFP news agency.
Hours earlier that same day, a 51-year-old woman, described by AFP as an architect, was attacked by three muggers. She attempted to flee but was shot in the head and killed, police told the news agency.
The unnamed woman was mugged while driving near one of the main entrances to Olympic Boulevard, which houses the Olympic flame and is a tourist attraction.
The killings come as the Rio police bomb squad carried out a controlled demolition near the finish line close to the Olympic cycling road race course on Saturday. They blew up an unattended backpack close to the line, Reuters reported, citing police.
The bag, they added, likely belonged to a homeless person. Other security officers have carried out controlled demolitions on other unattended bags in Rio.
A loud bang was heard on the BBC’s coverage of the road cycling race. BBC host Andrew Cropper later said, “Security forces telling us on ground they exploded a suspect bag. Area is just behind spectator seating after finish line of road race at Copacabana beach,” according to the Independent newspaper.
