It was reported that a Russian diplomat, age 60, was reportedly able to fend off a robber tackle and kill him near Rio’s Olympic Park on Thursday.
The alleged Russian was stuck in traffic at the Avenida das Americas in Barra da Tijuca when a robber approached his car by a motorcycle.
In a statement to Fairfax Media, Rio Civil Police said the Homicide Squad confirmed the lawyer, who holds a vice-consul post in the Russian consulate, then wrestled with the assailant and, during the fight, the assailant’s gun went off killing him.
However the local paper, Extra reported the diplomat used jiu-jitsu to grab the attacker, pull him into the car, take his gun and shoot him.
Reportedly an accomplice on a second motorcycle fled after.
Brazilian news agency, Agencia Brasil said the diplomat was in the car with his wife and daughter.
This type of robbery is common in Brazil and motorists are advised to keep vehicle doors closed and locked.
Russian embassy clarified their employees were not involved:
“The embassy of Russia in Brazil informs that no representative of the Russian Consul General in Rio de Janeiro was involved in the attempted assault that ended with the death of the suspect in Barra da Tijuca this Thursday.
“The officials of the diplomatic mission are Russian citizens with Russian names, which was not the case (in Thursday’s incident).”
A later report by the Brazilian Folha.uol.com website said that the reported diplomat was a Brazilian with fake identity papers who was passing himself off as a Russian diplomat.
The body of assailant lay in the street for five hours, according to Sky News, as police began their investigation.
Crime remains a major concern for Olympic visitors in Rio.
Marcos Cesar Feres Braga is a Brazilian lawyer working for Russian consulate in Rio and has a car with Russian flag which initially led news sources to believe he was a Russian diplomat
