Mystery of bullet at Rio Olympics equestrian centre solved
By Paul Vinnell
Last Updated: 08/08/16 4:00pm
The bullet that flew through the media room at Rio 2016's equestrian venue on Saturday was fired at a police blimp from one of the Brazilian city's notorious favelas.
Mario Andrada, the chief spokesman for Rio 2016's organising committee, said the intended target was a security camera on the blimp - and not the international equestrian media.
"According to the security forces the bullet came from a community far from here," said Andrada.
"They were aiming at the blimp which carries cameras. The same source, from the Ministry of Defence, says the first findings showed that the bullet arrived with low energy and low speed."
Andrada added that this will be confirmed when the security forces check the camera on the blimp.
"Our first goal is to protect you and our second goal is to keep you informed," Andrada assured journalists.
The equestrian venue is on the site of a large military complex, so it was initially believed the bullet may have come from an army shooting range.
The actual incident caused a storm on social media but did not stop any of the journalists working at the time.
Alice Collins, of Horse and Hound magazine, was in the media centre at the time of the incident and she told Sky Sports News HQ: "The first we knew of it was a sort of clattering noise.
"The bullet landed towards the edge of the room of the media centre which is a very large building which is tented.
"Then we realised the bullet had come through the side of the tent. I can see now the hole it made and the light coming through it. Luckily no-one was injured."
