Rio criminals hijack ambulance, make patient wait while they take own trip

Rio gang forces ambulance driver to give them ride

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian authorities say criminals hijacked an ambulance and forced the driver to give them a ride to a slum in Rio de Janeiro before taking their patient to the hospital.

Officials say armed men stopped the ambulance shortly after it picked up a mental patient in a shantytown in the city’s north side.

Carrying pistols and shotguns, the gang members made the driver transport them to another slum before allowing him to continue. Two paramedics also were in the ambulance. No one was injured.

The ambulance belonged to the city’s fire department, and Lt. Col. Alexandre Rocha told the Terra website that paramedics would continue to take calls in the slums despite the Friday incident.