RIO DE JANEIRO — Authorities said Saturday two more people have died after bank robbers attempted to carry out heists in northeastern Brazil, bringing the death toll to 14.
Brazil’s military police said that the heavily armed group of assailants took hostages who were traveling on federal highway BR-116 around 2 a.m. on Friday. The highway leads to Milagres, a city in the state of Ceara.
Military police said the criminals were planning to take the hostages to two banks when they came under police fire and a shootout ensued.
They said eight suspected robbers and six hostages between the ages of 13 and 60 were killed. Lielson Macedo Landim, the mayor of Milagres, told the G1 news portal Friday that the hostages were executed by the criminal group and not killed by police fire. He said that two children were among the dead.
Military police said Saturday that five of the criminals died during the shootout. Two others died a few hours later in a hospital and an eighth suspect was killed in a separate clash with police on the outskirts of Milagres.
Police said three others were arrested and explosives, firearms, and three vehicles were seized.
Ceara is one of the most violent states in Brazil, with 59 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.