Horror scenes in Araçatuba. After robbing three banks on Monday morning in this southern Brazilian city, heavily armed thugs took residents hostage and tied them to their cars to use them as human shields.
At dawn, a group of twenty men, divided into ten vehicles, stormed this city in the state of Sao Paulo, attacking three bank branches, reports the Globo, the main Brazilian television channel.
To escape the police, they then took passers-by and drivers hostage, taking the opportunity to steal their cars. Videos posted on social networks show people tied to the roofs or hoods of vehicles, in order to prevent the police from firing.
Na fuga, os reféns foram amarrados nos veículos. Tentativa de impedir qualquer contra-ataque da polícia ao grupo. Deus guarde essas pessoas e todos de Araçatuba. Todas as agências bancárias do centro foram invadidas – informações preliminares. pic.twitter.com/lu0hBlcTCu
– Yuri Macri (@yurimacri) August 30, 2021
Isso não pode ser real. Socorro Araçatuba pic.twitter.com/867R71GH3t
– Lucas Julioti (@JuliotiLucas) August 30, 2021
Aflição total, meu Deus, oremos por todas essas pessoas que estão sendo feitas de reféns nesse mega assalto aqui em Araçatuba # Araçatuba # OremPorAraçatuba pic.twitter.com/lBo4Ti2rk0
– thales (@thalespatrizzi) August 30, 2021
The perpetrators also set fire to other automobiles to block the main access roads to the city, scattered explosives in the streets of the city center and surrounded the local military police station. Shots rang out.
Three dead and four injured
“We are living in a moment of terror. I live a few blocks from the center. I heard all the shots, I followed them through videos, I did not leave my home and I ask the population to stay at home, ”reacted the mayor, Dilador Borges, in an interview at TV Globo.
Calm finally returned after two hours of tension. At least three people have died, police said, two civilians and a suspected criminal. Four other people were injured, and two suspects were arrested. As for the balance sheet of the robberies, it has not yet been estimated. The thugs would have managed to reach the underground safe of one of the agencies, according to the Brazilian media UOL.