Man surrenders after holding 17 hostage on hijacked bus in Rio de Janeiro

Andrade said the man was arrested and all the hostages, who included elderly people and children, were freed. Thefts and hijacks targeting buses near Rio's main bus station have become common this year, with the buses in some cases being taken to the city's poor favela neighborhoods.

(Recasts story with the arrest and more details, context) RIO DE JANEIRO, March 12 (Reuters) -

Police in Brazil arrested a man on Tuesday after he hijacked a bus and shot two people at a bus station in Rio de Janeiro before holding 17 people hostage for about three hours. The man, who was not identified by authorities, handed himself over to police, according to a spokesperson for the Rio police.

The bus, which had been scheduled to depart to the city of Juiz de Fora in Minas Gerais state, was waiting at the station platform on Tuesday afternoon when the suspect broke into it after shooting and injuring two people outside the bus, spokesperson Marco Andrade told journalists. Andrade said the man was arrested and all the hostages, who included elderly people and children, were freed.

Thefts and hijacks targeting buses near Rio's main bus station have become common this year, with the buses in some cases being taken to the city's poor favela neighborhoods.