Swiss Couple Victim of Highway Robbery in Rio, Say Police

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Special Tourist Support Police (DEAT) reported on December 31st, that it is carrying out investigations to identify those responsible for the shooting of a couple of Swiss tourists on Sunday afternoon, December 29th, on their way to the city of Paraty (RJ), where they would spend New Year’s Eve.

Michele Angelo Galli, 75, is hospitalized at the Getulio Vargas Hospital, with a gunshot wound to the chest and his state of health is considered critical, according to the State Health Secretariat.

His wife, Miranda Pia Regazzoni, 73, was struck by glass shards, suffered minor injuries and did not require hospitalization. She was heard for over four hours at the DEAT yesterday and provided details on how it all happened.

The couple had left Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in the west zone of Rio, and was heading to the city of Paraty, on the coast of Costa Verde, driving by the car’s GPS, but could not reach their destination.

On the way back, around 5:30 PM, on the Rio-Petrópolis highway (BR-040), near Trevo das Missões, in the urban perimeter, they were approached by men armed with rifles and pistols who robbed them at the exit of the highway.

So far, investigations point out that the group would have tried to steal the tourists’ vehicle, who do not speak Portuguese and would have been frightened by the criminals’ guns.

A couple of Brazilians who had driven by earlier were robbed by the same group and had their car stolen. Specialized police officers have already requested CCTV footage from cameras in the region.

The projectile that hit the victims was collected from the investigation carried out on the couple’s car. Bianca Lima, the head of the specialized police station, continues to lead the proceedings and taking statements from the victims and people who had been passing by when the criminals approached the couple.

The criminals would be from the Cidade Alta community, in Cordovil, north zone, which is located across the federal highway exit.