Rio de Janeiro, Aug 10 (IANS) An Olympic media shuttle bus was attacked on the way back to Barra Olympic park here on Tuesday as one of its windows was broken. There were no injures.
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It was unclear whether the vehicle had been hit by shots or stones.
A journalist from Estado de Sao Paulo said that military cops did not bother inspecting the bus before declaring it had been stones thrown, which he thought improbable as they were a long way from houses and they all seemed to come from exactly the same position.
Lee Michaelson of Hoopfeed.com said that two windows shattered and the broken glass left two people with minor lacerations.
Michaelson said that she got on the floor as soon as she heard the gunshots, and told all the other passengers to “hit the deck” as well. “The security authorities are now investigating the incident and we await their report before making further comment”. There was a popping, cracking noise. After a couple of minutes we had a police escort.
Meanwhile, pictures of the bus involved in the incident, which was carrying about a dozen members of the media at the time, show shards of glass covering seats and window panes which were completely cracked.
No one was seriously injured in the incident on Tuesday (NZT Wednesday).
“Immediately, he looked in the rearview mirror and noticed that the passengers were lying on the ground”. There was a very distinctive sound of the report of a gun.
When the bus driver spotted a police auto, he pulled over and told officers what happened.
Ms Michaelson said, despite being impressed by the welcoming attitude of volunteers at the Games in general, she was concerned by the response of Olympic officials to the incident.
A spokesperson for the Rio organising committee, Mario Andrada, said forensic investigators were trying to determine if the projectile was a bullet or a rock. Organizers said the intended target was probably a security camera on a blimp.
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It is the Games’ second major security scare after a stray bullet ripped through a media tent at the equestrian venue in Deodoro.
