A shootout between criminals and military police interrupted traffic on Avenida Brasil, this Sunday (16), in Rio de Janeiro.
According to the Military Police, at around 11 am, military police from the Shock Battalion were called about an attempted robbery near the community of Acari, in the north of Rio de Janeiro. When they arrived at the scene, two men on a motorcycle were trying to stop the flow of vehicles on the road to rob the drivers, according to the police. Photos show drivers and passengers crouched next to their cars to protect themselves from gunfire.
“During the attempted approach, the criminals fired shots at the police, who reacted. Due to the exchange of gunfire, vehicular traffic on the road was temporarily blocked to protect the physical integrity of those passing by,” the PM reported.
There are no reports of injuries. After the exchange of fire, teams from the Shock Battalion and other agents, with the support of agents from the National Security Force, searched the region. The suspects were not located.
Officers from the Riot Police Battalion work in Operation Safe Route, whose objective is to reinforce security on expressways, to prevent theft of cargo and vehicles.
Policing was reinforced in the region.
Traffic interruptions
At around 2pm, the Rio City Hall Operations Center reported, on the social network X, that traffic on the stretch between Irajá and Guadalupe was free.
