“They’re not people,” says man knocked out by bandits in Rio

The elderly man knocked out by robbers in Copacabana, in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro last Saturday (3), gave a statement this Monday (4) and gave details about the crime.

Marcelo Rubim Benchimol, 67, said he was going to the gym when he witnessed a woman being the victim of a dragnet. The merchant tried to intervene, but ended up being punched in the face, lost consciousness and had his cell phone stolen by the bandits.

“She was being attacked by about five boys. I even thought about running away from the environment, but my conscience hurt and I went to help her. They deviated from it and came to fight with me”, said Marcelo.

With his face still bruised, he said he decided to give a statement to the police to help with investigations into the case. Benchimol assesses, however, that he does not trust that this type of crime will end in Rio de Janeiro.

“These are people who have nothing. They look like animals, they’re not people. I don’t know if this has an end, because if they arrest this group, another one will come and so on,” she said.

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After the robbery, Marcelo was rescued by two guards and taken to an Emergency Care Unit (UPA), where he received treatment and was released. Despite the brutality, the merchant was not seriously injured.

“I never thought about being punched from behind and completely losing my senses. I only came to my senses thanks to two guards who took me to the UPA and then I regained consciousness,” she said.

The case is being investigated by the Ipanema Police Station as an attempted robbery (robbery followed by death). According to the Civil Police, it has already been possible to map part of the route taken by the criminals and new images are being sought.

The police do not rule out hearing from the woman who was also targeted by the gang and ask for the public’s collaboration with reports by calling 2253-1177 (Dial-Denúncia).