Gunman holding bus passengers hostage killed in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro

Police in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro shot dead a man who had hijacked a bus and taken passengers hostage on Tuesday. More than three dozen people were taken hostage over the four-hour hijacking, according to news agency Reuters. None of the hostages were injured.

The people were held hostage on the President Costa e Silva Bridge, commonly known as the Rio–Niteroi Bridge, according to a local website Brasil 247.

The website said that the gunman had gas bottles. It added that the total number of people inside the bus is yet to be confirmed. The gunman had released three women and a man at around 7.20 am (Brazil time).

Quoting the Military Police, the website reported that the action would have been premeditated, but the reason isn't known. It also said that the gunman identified himself as a military police officer. He threatened to throw gas on the bus.