Heist done, armed gangsters tie hostages atop cars and dash off
RIO DE JANEIRO: Bank robbers armed with explosives and highpowered rifles plunged a city in Sao Paulo state’s interior into terror early on Monday, taking civilians hostage and even putting some on their cars while making their escape.
Video shared on social media showed a booming shoot-out and men dressed in black marching hostages down a street in Araçatuba, 520km from Sao Paulo and home to almost 200,000 people.
After ransacking two bank branches, the criminals drove away with hostages clinging to the roofs of their cars and hoods to deter police from firing at the getaway convoy. Another hostage stood with his torso protruding from an SUV’s sunroof and his hands held in the air.
At least three people were killed in the clash, two of whom were civilians, authorities said in a morning press conference. One was a local businessman who went to the location to film the attack and the other a delivery boy, per preliminary information. The third person killed was a suspect, found in his car. Six others were injured.
The coordinated robbery on Monday involved dozens of criminals and at least 10 cars. They burned vehicles in strategic locations to impede police response, and reportedly used a drone to monitor officers’ movements.
“Araçatuba was shaken by highly dangerous criminals who fired thousands of shots,” Col. Rodrigo Arena, the police commander in the region, told reporters.
Arena said that three suspects had been arrested and federal police are taking over investigations, he added. Sao Paulo’s public security secretariat said in a statement that 380 police officers were trying to locate the escaped criminals.
Araçatuba’s mayor, Dilador Borges, said earlier on Monday morning that authorities believe undetonated explosives remain in some areas of the city centre, and called on residents to remain in their homes.
Local media reported that branches belonging to state banks Caixa Federal and Banco do Brasil were the ones targeted.