Rio 2016 : Olympic security chief attacked after opening ceremony before knife-wielding robber shot dead by police






Portugal's minister of education was robbed as he headed back to his hotel in the South American city as it emerged the Olympic security chief had also been attacked after the opening ceremony


The South American city continues to be rocked by crime and security scares as it hosts the 2016 games
The Rio 2016 Olympic games have been rocked by more trouble after it emerged the Olympic security chief had been attacked after he left the opening ceremony.
The Olympics security chief was attacked as he left the Games opening ceremony by a knife-wielding robber who was shot dead by a cop.
Felipe Seixas was walking to his car near the Maracanã Stadium early on Saturday when he was set upon by four men brandishing knives.
A policeman with him shot one of the assailants dead and the others fled.
Authorities have attempted to hush up details of the shooting, which is a monumental embarrassment to crime-plagued Rio 2016 bosses.


The security chief himself became a mugging target after committing 10,000 security forces to protect the extravaganza.


Robbers pounced after spectators had left the glittering showpiece event starring supermodel Gisele Bündchen and runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, who lit the Olympic flame.
The president’s chief of staff Eliseu Padilha had promised the curtain raising spectacular - attended by 40 world leaders - had security unprecedented in the history of Brazil.





PA Bomb disposal squad cordon off an area outside the Beach Volleyball Arena
Bomb disposal squad cordon off an area outside the Beach Volleyball Arena
And Rio mayor Eduardo Paes boasted the city would be the “safest place in the world” during the Games with 88,000 security personnel in total protecting 500,000 fans expected over 17 days.


Seixas is a senior official in Brazil’s federal police, which performs a similar role to the FBI. He was seconded to a federal body formed to protect the Olympics.
The dead robber was named as Ronaldo Fagner Marques de Souza, 22, who had criminal convictions for theft and drug dealing.







Meanwhile Portugal's Minister of Education was robbed at knifepoint as he headed back to his hotel from the Olympic cycling road race.

Youtube Tiago Brandao Rodrigues
Tiago Brandao Rodrigues was mugged on his way back to his hotel
Tiago Brandao Rodrigues, 39, was stopped by a man brandishing a blade near his hotel in Ipanema on Saturday afternoon.
He and aide Rita Roque were forced to hand over cash and mobiles
The mugger fled after taking their valuables but was intercepted by locals who held him until police arrived and reunited the visiting politician and his advisor with their belongings.
It is thought an accomplice managed to get away empty-handed.
Ms Roque, who described the weapon the mugger used as a “domestic knife”, admitted: “It was a bit of a fright but we’re both okay.”




Reuters 2016 Rio Olympics - Opening ceremony
The Olympic security chief was attacked while leaving the star-studded opening ceremony




Rex Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The South American paradise is blighted by a high crime rate






Police in Brazil confirmed a 26-year-old named as Marcio Luiz Brandao had been arrested and accused of robbery - and faces a 10-year jail sentence if convicted.
Before being taken to a police station to be fingerprinted, he had to be treated in hospital for injuries he suffered at the hands of the angry locals who stopped him fleeing the scene of his crime.

Getty Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Ipanema Beach near to where the Portuguese politician was mugged
Local reports said he had tried to bribe the officers who arrested him by offering them the equivalent of £1200 to avoid being taken into custody.
The detainee was held overnight in a police station before being transferred to Rio’s notorious Bangu prison.
Brandao was described as being well-known to police.
He had been on parole for the past year after serving time for drugs trafficking.


His wife Lidiane Aguiar, who made an unsuccessful attempt to see him at the police station where he was held overnight, said: “He was desperate because he couldn’t manage to find work.
“We are living in a rented property and our situation is very difficult."
Mr Rodrigues’ aide said the minister, the official Olympic attache for the Portuguese Mission to the London 2012 Olympics and a former Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge and Cancer Research UK, would not be commenting.


Reuters A bomb disposal expert wearing protective equipment examines a suspect package
A bomb disposal expert wearing protective equipment examines a suspect package one of several to blight the games


Getty Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
The opening ceremony was marred by protests robbery and security alerts

So far the games have been dogged by security fears and petty crime.
A suspect package was spotted outside a games venue as the opening ceremony took place.
Police and army bomb disposal experts raced to Copacabana after terrified members of the public reported seeing what could be an explosive device in the road.
Just moments later, it was reported that a second security scare had been sparked when a series of unauthorised drones made their way to the Olympic stadium.