Bus hijacked in Rio de Janeiro was going to Juiz de Fora, in the interior of MG

The bus hijacked by a criminal in Rio de Janeiro was destined for the city of Juiz de Fora, in the interior of Minas Gerais. The information was confirmed by Viação Sampaio, the company that owns the vehicle.

According to the company, 37 tickets were sold for the upper part of the vehicle, which is an executive category. Another six tickets were negotiated for the lower part, which operates in the bed category.

Note — Viação Sampaio

Viação Sampaio informs that the bus hijacked at Rodoviária Novo Rio is from the Rio de Janeiro-Juiz de Fora (MG) line, operated by Viação Útil, which would leave at 2:30 pm this afternoon.
37 tickets were sold for the upper part of the bus, which is in the executive category, and 6 tickets for the lower part, which operates in the sleeper category. A team from Viação Sampaio is on site to provide assistance to passengers involved in this case of violence. We deeply regret what happened, although no details are yet available, and we will provide as much support as possible to the company's customers and employees.

The kidnap

A Viação Sampaio bus was hijacked this Tuesday (12) at Rodoviária Novo Rio, in Santo Cristo. At least two people were hit by gunfire. The incident is ongoing and there are 17 passengers hostage inside the vehicle.

The bus was destined for Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais. People would have been shot outside the vehicle, before the kidnapper entered.

Agents from the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) were called to negotiate with the kidnapper. There is still no information about the motive for the kidnapping.