Rio de Janeiro Gunmen Take Hostages

On Saturday, some heavily armed gang members took to firing at police in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The confrontation moved to an InterContinental Hotel, which is a popular stay location for tourists in the city, where they took 35 people hostage for three hours in the kitchen.

According to police, the battle started when they saw about ten cars leaving the Vidigal slum and moving toward the nearby Rocinha slum, which is one of the largest in Latin America. During the 40 minutes of gunfire, one woman was killed, whom police say was a member of the gang. Some of the gunmen then fled to Rocinha, but about 20 others are said to have ran into the InterContinental Hotel, quickly grabbing guests and workers as hostages.

An elite military unit was seen evacuating guests in television coverage. There was a dentists’ convention going on at the hotel, so many of the guests were there for that. Authorities were finally able to negotiate the release of the hostages, and 9 suspects were arrested. None of the hostages were hurt during the incident, but four officers and three other people were injured.

This incident highlights the tough challenges that security officials are facing in the run-up to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. Police are under pressure to make the country safer for competitors and travelers alike and have vowed to fight violence. In just the last year, they have began an aggressive program of invading slums with heavily armed gangs, driving them out and making police posts.