Random Acts of Violence

Two Shot Dead Near Rio Olympics

Two killed in separate mugging incidents during Friday’s opening ceremony.

Police in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday said two people were shot dead in separate incidents near Olympic sites on Friday, the day of the opening ceremony. The news comes amid heightened safety concerns in the Olympic city, with numerous reports of muggings and violence. In one of Friday’s incidents, a mugger was confronted by a police officer near the Maracana stadium. “The man was carrying out assaults when a military police officer... shot him,” police said in a statement. In a separate incident, a 51-year-old woman was killed by three armed muggers while driving by one of the main entrances to the Olympic Boulevard, police said. She was shot in the head when attempting to flee.