A series of knife attacks in areas popular with tourists has Rio de Janeiro on edge just a year before the Brazilian city hosts South America's first Olympics.
In the latest incident, police said two teenagers fatally stabbed a 52-year-old doctor late Tuesday as he cycled near the popular Rodrigo de Freitas lake, not far from the site hosting the Olympic rowing events.
The victim, identified as Jaime Gold, died of his injuries in hospital.
The attack came just weeks after a 19-year-old Frenchman was assaulted in the same district as he cycled around the lake, which is near Rio's fabled Ipanema beach.
The teen spent 15 days in hospital in intensive care but recovered.
On April 25, a 14-year-old was attacked and stabbed by four youths who stole his bicycle. Last Sunday, a Vietnamese tourist was stabbed and robbed in central Rio. Both survived the assaults.
Other similar incidents have occurred at the popular beachside park in the city's central Flamengo district.
Last December, British 2012 world champion sailors Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark were mugged at knife point after a practice session in the neighborhood.
Rio state governor Luiz Fernando Pezao expressed concern about the continued violence, and said 31 people, mostly youths, were recently arrested in Flamengo park, but that they were all later released.
Brazil is currently in the throes of a bitter debate on whether to reduce the age of criminality from 18 to 16, and Pezao said the topic merits wider discussion.
"We need to have a big discussion with society on this proposed bill," he urged.
State secretary for security Jose Mariano Beltrame dubbed Tuesday's killing "simply unacceptable" and announced a shake-up in the district police chain of command.
Rio mayor Eduardo Paes said the issue went far wider and deeper than the Olympics.
"This is not simply an issue concerning the Olympics (but) a matter of how we all conduct our lives," Paes told reporters.
He was speaking at Rio's Olympic headquarters on the sidelines of a meeting with members of the International Olympic Committee examining the city's readiness to host the Games.
The meeting took place as a brief labor strike prevented work at some Olympic venues in the city.
The "Rio de Paz" (Rio peace) group meanwhile staged a demonstration against the surge in violence. Participants painted a bicycle black to symbolize the 41,494 homicides which have occurred in the city since 2007.
Police have responded to the crime wave by deploying a 70-strong contingent to patrol the area on horseback, bicycles and foot.
A series of knife attacks in areas popular with tourists has Rio de Janeiro on edge just a year before the Brazilian city hosts South America’s first Olympics.
In the latest incident, police said two teenagers fatally stabbed a 52-year-old doctor late Tuesday as he cycled near the popular Rodrigo de Freitas lake, not far from the site hosting the Olympic rowing events.
The victim, identified as Jaime Gold, died of his injuries in hospital.
The attack came just weeks after a 19-year-old Frenchman was assaulted in the same district as he cycled around the lake, which is near Rio’s fabled Ipanema beach.
The teen spent 15 days in hospital in intensive care but recovered.
On April 25, a 14-year-old was attacked and stabbed by four youths who stole his bicycle. Last Sunday, a Vietnamese tourist was stabbed and robbed in central Rio. Both survived the assaults.
Other similar incidents have occurred at the popular beachside park in the city’s central Flamengo district.
Last December, British 2012 world champion sailors Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark were mugged at knife point after a practice session in the neighborhood.
Rio state governor Luiz Fernando Pezao expressed concern about the continued violence, and said 31 people, mostly youths, were recently arrested in Flamengo park, but that they were all later released.
Brazil is currently in the throes of a bitter debate on whether to reduce the age of criminality from 18 to 16, and Pezao said the topic merits wider discussion.
“We need to have a big discussion with society on this proposed bill,” he urged.
State secretary for security Jose Mariano Beltrame dubbed Tuesday’s killing “simply unacceptable” and announced a shake-up in the district police chain of command.
Rio mayor Eduardo Paes said the issue went far wider and deeper than the Olympics.
“This is not simply an issue concerning the Olympics (but) a matter of how we all conduct our lives,” Paes told reporters.
He was speaking at Rio’s Olympic headquarters on the sidelines of a meeting with members of the International Olympic Committee examining the city’s readiness to host the Games.
The meeting took place as a brief labor strike prevented work at some Olympic venues in the city.
The “Rio de Paz” (Rio peace) group meanwhile staged a demonstration against the surge in violence. Participants painted a bicycle black to symbolize the 41,494 homicides which have occurred in the city since 2007.
Police have responded to the crime wave by deploying a 70-strong contingent to patrol the area on horseback, bicycles and foot.
