Bandits hit 2 Brazilian banks; 3 people die

Explosives-toting robbers make escape with hostages clinging to getaway cars

RIO DE JANEIRO — Bank robbers armed with explosives and high-powered rifles plunged a city in Sao Paulo state’s interior into terror early Monday, taking civilians hostage and even putting some on their cars while making their escape.

Video shared on social media showed a booming shootout and men dressed in black marching hostages down a street in Aracatuba, 323 miles 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 at a news conference. One was a local businessman who went to the location to film the attack and the other a delivery boy, according to preliminary information. The third person killed was a suspect, found in his car. Six others were injured.

Large-scale bank heists have become more frequent in Brazil in recent years, with hostages used as human shields. In July last year, a group of criminals stormed Botucatu in Sao Paulo state, and, over two days in December, two cities on opposite sides of the country. Aracatuba was itself the site of a similar attack, in 2017.

The coordinated robbery 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.

“Aracatuba was shaken by highly dangerous criminals who fired thousands of shots,” Col. Rodrigo Arena, the police commander in the region, told reporters.

Arena said three suspects had been arrested and Federal Police are taking over the investigation. Sao Paulo’s public security secretariat said in a statement that 380 police officers were trying to find the escaped criminals.

Aracatuba’s mayor, Dilador Borges, said earlier Monday that authorities believed undetonated explosives remained in some areas of the city center, 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.