Photo: G1.Globo.com
A hero bus driver possibly saved the lives of 6 passengers on his bus during an armed robbery in Macapa, north Brazil, last week.
According to G1 Globo, the robbery occurred at about 7:30pm, when 3 men armed with knives and homemade weapons boarded the bus. At the time, it carried about 12 passengers, plus the driver. The robbers proceeded to threaten them all, asking them to hand over money, valuables and wallets. They also asked the driver to give them the day’s money in fares.
At one point, the driver decided to open the back door for passengers to escape, should they want to. It could be that the situation was becoming more tense or he assumed the robbers would move to physical violence now that they had gotten what they came for.
The Integrated Operational Center for Social Defense (CIODES), which is investigating the incident, says that, in order to allow the passengers the chance to jump, the driver slowed down to about 20mph and would brake periodically.
CCTV footage from 2 different cameras shows 5 people jumping out of the bus at the same time. A sixth one managed to jump farther down the road, and is seen joining the others a bit later. Globo has the video.
All passengers were unharmed, though they’re visibly shaken. One woman immediately gets up and leaves, while the others need some time to gather their belongings from the street. They managed to get away with most of their possessions, but still lost their credit cards and money.
CIODES says that the attack happened on a bus from operator Siao Thur and that it was the second that day and the fifth this month. They believe it’s the same gang behind all attacks.
“The robberies happened last week on the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth, making that five already for the month,” Marcos Claudio, a spokesperson for the bus operator, says. “So far there have been 81 cases of assault on our buses since the beginning of the year.”
Luckily, the robbers did not think it worth taking it out on the bus driver for helping the passengers escape. Police have found the empty wallets discarded but, so far, they have no suspect in custody.
At one point, the driver decided to open the back door for passengers to escape, should they want to. It could be that the situation was becoming more tense or he assumed the robbers would move to physical violence now that they had gotten what they came for.
The Integrated Operational Center for Social Defense (CIODES), which is investigating the incident, says that, in order to allow the passengers the chance to jump, the driver slowed down to about 20mph and would brake periodically.
CCTV footage from 2 different cameras shows 5 people jumping out of the bus at the same time. A sixth one managed to jump farther down the road, and is seen joining the others a bit later. Globo has the video.
All passengers were unharmed, though they’re visibly shaken. One woman immediately gets up and leaves, while the others need some time to gather their belongings from the street. They managed to get away with most of their possessions, but still lost their credit cards and money.
CIODES says that the attack happened on a bus from operator Siao Thur and that it was the second that day and the fifth this month. They believe it’s the same gang behind all attacks.
“The robberies happened last week on the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth, making that five already for the month,” Marcos Claudio, a spokesperson for the bus operator, says. “So far there have been 81 cases of assault on our buses since the beginning of the year.”
Luckily, the robbers did not think it worth taking it out on the bus driver for helping the passengers escape. Police have found the empty wallets discarded but, so far, they have no suspect in custody.
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