Security stepped up at Rio equestrian center

Security at the Olympic Equestrian Center has been stepped up after a second stray bullet reached the area, going harmlessly into the stables on Wednesday. There were no reports of injuries.

On Saturday, a bullet fired from a favela, or slum area, nearby had gone through the roof of a media tent just missing a sports official from New Zealand.

The organizing committee said security was "on-site now establishing the facts," and that "additional security has been deployed to the venue to support the investigation and to ensure the safety of everyone on site, which is our top priority."

The Equestrian Center is situated on military land and the dressage competition continued on Wednesday to the occasional sound of gunfire.

Journalist bus stoned

Three people were injured on Tuesday after a bus carrying journalists in the Curicica area of Rio de Janeiro towards the Olympic Park was stoned. Organizers said it was an "act of vandalism."

Security chief Luiz Fernando Correa discounted accounts from witnesses who said shots had been fired at the bus. "We think it's an act of vandalism rather than a criminal act with the intention of injuring someone," Correa said.

Security force

Due to concerns about street crime, a security force of 85,000 has been deployed in Rio for the duration of the games. Among them are 23,000 soldiers and a navy ship to patrol Ipanema Beach.

Some notable incidents have included a knife-point mugging of the chief of security for the opening ceremony last Friday night as he left the stadium and an assault on Portugal's education minister as he walked near the rowing competition lagoon.

There was also a bomb scare near the finishing line of the men's cycling race on the opening day, last Saturday.

There has also been concern expressed by rights groups about excessive force being used by army and police at the games.

Amnesty International reported that the police were responsible for 20 percent of the city's homicides last year, according to data obtained from the state Public Security Institute. There were 645 police killings in 2015 and the number of those who died at the hands of police between April and June was double that for the same period last year.

jm/rc (Reuters, AP)