A woman survived a terrifying ordeal in which she was kidnapped in a pet shop car park and held at gunpoint for three hours.
Horror CCTV footage shows how she loaded her shopping into her car before walking around to the driver’s side door.
As the 45-year-old was about to get in, two men suddenly burst out of the vehicle parked in the neighbouring bay.
READ MORE: Man falls to death from 11th floor hotel balcony in ‘mysterious circumstances’
The men, one of whom was wearing a balaclava and holding a handgun, bundled the terrified woman into their car and drove off.
The horror scenes unfolded early on Monday (10 Mar) afternoon in São Paulo, Brazil.
The woman, whose name has not been disclosed, was held by the crooks for three hours.
During the ordeal, she was threatened with death and forced to make bank transfers and card payments.
She later recalled to local media: “They drove around with me a lot.
“He kept telling me, ‘If you get the password wrong, if you lie about anything, I’ll shoot you in the face.’
“He kept threatening me with the gun the whole time. I spent three hours in terror.”
Luckily, a bystander had witnessed the kidnapping and alerted the police, who were able to track down the vehicle.
A chase ensued and culminated in a shootout.
The woman recalled: “My husband stayed on the phone with the police for an hour, tracking me.
“When they fled, I just heard noise on the roof of the car and the windows shattering. It was gunfire, gunfire, gunfire.
“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. It was terrible.”
The police say they opened fire because they believed one of the men was armed and about to shoot.
The Public Safety Bureau stated: “As he got out of the car, one of the suspects, 28 years old, appeared to reach for a weapon. The police intervened.”
The man was hit in the shootout and was taken to the hospital but did not survive. His weapon was found to be a replica.
His accomplice managed to escape down an alley and was still at large at the time of reporting.
The woman was rescued by the police with some injuries, as reported by Need To Know.
The pet shop, Cobasi, stated: “We will work to strengthen security in our stores and continue cooperating with the police investigation.”
READ MORE: Tourist jumps out of moving car to escape KIDNAPPERS
