Rio 2016 official says bus was hit by rock despite report of gunshots
RIO DE JANEIRO — The Rio 2016 organizing committee said a media bus was struck by a rock on Tuesday night, despite a report from an eyewitness who said that the bus was hit by bullets.
Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrade said a forensic study determined the bus was hit by a rock, breaking two windows as the bus transported members of the media from the basketball venue in Deodoro to the main Olympic Park.
Andrade said the final analysis of the incident will be available later Wednesday.
Luiz Fernando Correa, head of security for the Rio 2016 organizing committee, provided more details about the incident Wednesday.
“It was a stone. It was a rock. We’re talking about an urban area, densely populated," he said. "It would humanly (be) impossible to have a perimeter that would exclude a person in the range of throwing something. What we need to have is a good distribution of agents. We think it’s an act of vandalism and not a criminal act with the intention of injuring one person or another.”
He said mobile patrols will be intensified in the coming days, but they could not provide escorts for every media bus.
“The government is not going to have motorcades. What we’re going to do is reinforce patrolling along the roads.”
Reuters reported that two people received cuts from the broken glass.
The incident took place in the neighborhood of Curicica, close to the main Olympic Park and media center. Rio 2016 officials said army and military police will be increased in the area after the incident.
Journalist Lee Michaelson, 64, of Port Hueneme, Calif., was on the bus and said she heard gunshots.
“Two shots,” said Michaelson, who works for HoopFeed.com. “It was very quick – pop, pop.”
Michaelson estimated the incident happened around 8:15 p.m. local time.
“The driver said, ‘Don’t worry. It’s a rock, it’s a rock.’
“There is no way that could have been a rock,” she said.