After ransacking two banks in Brazil, a group of robbers escaped with hostages strapped onto their getaway cars Monday morning.
Photos and videos on social media show people tied to the hoods of cars, and police confirmed the hostages were used "as human shields," according to Rádio CBN.
The robbers created chaos in Araçatuba, a city in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo. Aside from robbing banks, the group detonated explosives across the city and set fire to dozens of cars.
Two residents and one of the alleged assailants died, Reuters reported. Another bystander who was injured in one of the explosions had his leg amputated.
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As the armed robbers entered the city and banks, they used drones to monitor the streets and police.
"The feeling was one of helplessness,” Mayor Dilador Borges told Rádio CBN. "It was a night of terror.”
As of Monday, two attackers had been arrested. More than 20 men carried out the attack and used 10 cars, police confirmed. Araçatuba residents expressed their concerns over the mayhem, many posting videos of the chaotic streets and others pledging to hide indoors until the attackers were found.
Classes in the city were canceled, and officials warned residents to remain indoors until all the explosives were found.
“I’m in tears and desperate,” one Araçatuba resident wrote on Twitter. “Help, Lord, protect the people here. My God, it looks like a movie scene what is happening here.”
Follow Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda
