Bullets, Explosion Mark Beginning of Rio Olympics

A man was shot and killed as crowds were leaving the opening ceremony
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 6, 2016 2:45 PM CDT
Bullets, Explosion Mark Beginning of Rio Olympics
Members of Brazilian federal police bomb squad pack their gear after detonating a suspicious package near the men's cycling road race final on Copacabana beach Saturday in Rio.   (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

It's been an eventful first two days for the Rio Olympics, but probably not in the way organizers were hoping. Brazilian police say an officer shot and killed a 22-year-old man who was attacking people as they left Maracana stadium Friday following the opening ceremony, USA Today reports. According to AFP, the man was mugging people. But reporters at the scene say it happened completely differently. They say people ducked for cover when gunshots rang out as thousands of people left the stadium. They then saw the shooter running into a nearby car and driving off.

On Saturday, the Brazilian military executed a controlled explosion near the finish line of the men's road cycling race. They were blowing up a suspicious bag that had been left unattended, the Guardian reports. Officials say the bag may have belonged to a homeless man, but they had to take precautions. The racers were 60 miles away at the time, but the explosion "stunned" people hoping to watch the end of the race, according to AFP. The Sydney Morning Herald reports a bullet came ripping through the media room at the Deodora equestrian center and landed near a photographer Saturday. No one was hurt, but the bullet left a hole in the tent's roof. The venue is near a military base, and it's possible the bullet was accidentally fired toward the venue by someone on the base. (More Rio Olympics stories.)

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