Gunmen Rob English Tourists in Rio
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – A group of 18 English tourists was robbed by heavily armed gunmen shortly after arriving in Rio de Janeiro for vacation, authorities said Sunday.
No one was injured in the Saturday night robbery, although one of the tourists reported being hit on the head, said Mario da Silveira, a state Public Safety Department spokesman.
Four gunmen, reportedly carrying automatic weapons and even a grenade, intercepted the tourists’ bus on the way from the airport to their hotel in the upscale Copacabana district, police said.
The robbers, who are still at large, then entered the bus and forced the tourists to hand over their belongings, police said.
Rio de Janeiro is one of the world’s most dangerous cities. Last month, gunmen attacked a bus carrying Chinese tourists and robbed them of $17,000. Police said it wasn’t clear whether the same group of gunmen was behind the robberies.