Brazilian authorities announced they have arrested a suspect in the alleged shooting that questioned the security imposed at the Rio Olympics. Of the two shooting incidents, two bullets found its way into the equestrian venue.
Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada noted that an arrest was made after police and military saw a man carrying a rifle. But Andrada explained that people in the area watching the Olympics were not the target of the suspect.
Don't worry, they weren't shooting at #RioOlympics2016 equestrian site, only at a blimp above it (WTF?) https://t.co/rvCM4pnKcp
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) August 11, 2016
Andrada stated that a blimp was the first target, however, the bullet that fell on the equestrian media center. The second bullet that was found near the equestrian stables was a stray bullet from a gunfight near the area. He added that the security of everyone in the Olympics is their major concern.
Gunshots were reportedly fired at a Rio media bus: https://t.co/6J2Byq9NeL
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) August 10, 2016
As this develops security measures in the area have been heightened after the shooting incident reported that nearly injured the media covering the Games. But Andrada and local law enforcement agencies denied it was from gunshots and stressed that it was caused by rocks thrown at the bus carrying the press.
Media practitioners downplay the authorities claim and will wait for a conclusive ballistic report on the incident. Though security threat is of a concern in this year’s Olympics, it does not stop people from coming to see athletes from around the world to compete. They just hope that authorities would double their efforts in securing the safety of everyone before it’s too late.
https://twitter.com/MSavarese/status/763587747680555008
Security measures around are stricter with the presence of military personnel patrolling the Olympic venues. Equestrian resumes with the individual and team dressage competition while the individual and team show jump will take place Sunday.
Photo Courtesy: Ian Patterson/Flickr
