Civilians Used As Human Shields By Robbers Who Raided Three Brazil Banks, 3 Killed

A gang of 20 armed robbers made a huge raid in Brazil when they robbed three banks in Aracatuba city around midnight on Monday, Aug. 30.

Worse, they used civilians as human shields, strapping them to their cars during the huge raid. There were reportedly at least three killed from the incident.

The 20 robbers were armed with machine guns, drones and bombs and robbed three banks in the city that was 290 miles from Sao Paulo, Brazil around midnight.

The raiders also attacked the local police headquarters and blocked roads to the city using burned-out cars to prevent reinforcements from coming in.

Videos showed how the armed men walked the victims through the streets before strapping them to the roofs and bonnets of the vehicles as they made their escape. Bombs were also scattered along their route to make sure that the police would stop or have a hard time following them.

Three people died as a result of the incident. Two were civilians while the other was one of the robbers. Two other people were also arrested according to reports.

As a result of the incident, the city has been placed on lockdown. With bombs scattered through the streets, police have cautioned residents to stay inside their homes.

The bombs are not ordinary ones. Some have proximity sensors – meaning that it would detonate if anyone would come close to it.

After hijacking and burning at least four vehicles, they were placed in key routes to make sure that police would be unable to give chase. After setting all that, the thieves hit the Banco do Brasil, Banco Safra and Caixa Econômica branches. It was not reported how much cash was stolen from the banks.

At least four people were reportedly injured when the shooting started. Their conditions remain unknown as of this writing.

According to CNN, one person was shot while a cyclist got hit by one of the infrared bombs.

Before Monday's attack, the most recent raids happened in Botucatu in July of last year. 40 armed men attacked three bank branches in the city and destroyed one of them with explosives. Hostages were also taken and a shoot-out with police followed.