2ND Bus hijacking in Rio de Janeiro ends peacefully

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Friday November 10, 2006

Rio de Janeiro- A 10-hour bus hijacking in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro ended Friday with no casualties, police confirmed. An armed man had held 20 people on board the bus hostage for eight hours, but by the afternoon had let all hostages go except one - his ex-wife, whom he was threatening to kill, according to media reports.

Identified as Andre Ribeiro da Silva, he eventually turned himself in to authorities and was arrested after hours of tense negotiations. His ex-wife and all other hostages were unhurt.

Police said Ribeiro da Silva was holding a gun to his ex-wife's head as he took a bus in the suburb of Nova Iguazu that carried more than 80 people. He apparently accused the woman of having betrayed him.

Passengers allowed to leave the vehicle said the hijacker hit his ex-wife and threatened to kill her and then commit suicide.

"For about 40 minutes, he was swinging his weapon from one side to the other, and we all threw ourselves on the floor for fear of a shot. The guy was tense, he said that his wife was shameless," a released hostage said.

Pastor Aarao de Oliveira, of the Pentecostal church to which Ribeiro da Silva belongs, said the man "did not accept the separation from his wife" and "lately had expressed his intention to do something crazy, to take his ex wife's life."

Following intense negotiations, the authorities convinced the man to free the 20 hostages in exchange for a further four people - including his mother, his sister and the pastor - who were trying to get him to turn himself in to the authorities.

The incident reminded Rio residents of another bus hijacking in June 2000, which ended with the deaths of the attacker and one female passenger.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency