Technician Kaan Korkmaz has water poured on a lesion caused when a window of an official media bus shattered when driving accredited journalists to the Main Transport Mall from the Deodoro venue of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. A Belarusian journalist received minor cuts from falling glass. A Reuters photographer, who has experience in battlefield, said he also had the impression that the bus was hit by gunfire.
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the incident was being investigated by security services and that it could not comment further until the “objects” had been identified. He said that he “immediately knew it was small arms fire”. A younger person took the opportunity to throw a stone at a bus going through.
Sherryl “Lee” Michaelson, who was travelling on the bus when it was hit, said she had heard shots just before the windows shattered.
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.
“I heard two shots – like a pop-pop”, said Michaelson, a retired Air Force captain and handgun owner.
‘The bus didn’t come to a stop but paused.
According to a statement from the Rio police, the driver of the bus has spoken to authorities.
The incident raises more concerns about security at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
According to reports, the bus had just left the Women’s basketball game between Japan and Turkey and was headed back to the Media Center in Olympic Park when bullets sprayed the bus, blowing out a window.
According to the organizers, the driver then noticed that two windows were broken, and resumed the route under the escort of the police vehicle.
The police and Rio 2016 organisers said they were investigating the latest incident.
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“With my background and training, I got down on the floor as much as I could and I hollered to the others to get down”.
