A man has been shot dead in Brazil after mowing down six people in his car and then trying to attack police who surrounded him with a knife as he got out of his vehicle.
Brazilian police have not ruled out terrorism but have not classified the incident as a terrorist act at this stage.
Video footage showed the motorist careering into pedestrians in the town of Lages in the southern state of Santa Catarina.
A man has been shot dead in Brazil after mowing down six people in his car and then trying to attack police who surrounded him with a knife as he got out of his vehicle
One of the people run over, a 33-year-old woman named as Janaina Antunes Correia, is said to be ‘serious.’
The others, who include a police officer hit while he was on his motorbike, are not believed to have been seriously injured.
The driver has been identified locally as Giovanni Oliveira Fornari, 41, from Ponta Grossa in the state of Parana. He is not thought to have a criminal record.
He died after being taken to hospital with a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
A 29-year-old woman, a 46-year-old man and military police officer Joel Alves de Souza are among the other victims.
Fornari was at the wheel of a Renault Sandero. The incident happened in the centre of Lages around 2pm local time yesterday/on Friday.
Local officials cancelled plans for an official Christmas opening in the city after the drama.
Police chief Frederick Ramsbusch, speaking before Fornari died in hospital, said: ‘The author of this crime was intercepted immediately but tried to attack police with a knife. ‘Because of his aggressiveness, he had to be reduced using a firearm. He was shot and is being taken to hospital.
‘We haven’t got enough information at the moment to characterise this as an act of terrorism. We need to obtain more information to be able to determine what led this person to commit this crime.’ Locals took to his Facebook page afterwards to insult the driver.
One said: ‘Scumbag. Death was scant punishment.’
Brazilian police have not ruled out terrorism but have not classified the incident as a terrorist act at this stage
Video footage showed the motorist careering into pedestrians in the town of Lages in the southern state of Santa Catarina
The driver has been identified locally as Giovanni Oliveira Fornari, 41, from Ponta Grossa in the state of Parana. He is not thought to have a criminal record