A resident of Donato Cuello street in Puente Alto, a comuna (municipality) in southern Santiago, found a firearm in the front yard of his home and alerted Carabineros, Chile's national police. Police believe it may be the weapon used by the gang that robbed women passengers at a nearby bus stop on the morning of Saturday, October 17.
According to BioBioChile, forensic tests indicate the weapon was capable of firing. Carabineros is lifting fingerprints to identify who was carrying it and to determine whether it was used in other crimes.
The robbery took place at around 7.10 a.m. at a bus stop of the RED system (Santiago's public transport), at Nonato Coo and Las Nieves avenue. According to La Tercera and CNN Chile, four individuals armed with a firearm, knives and screwdrivers were threatening women who were waiting for transport to get to work.
The sources differ on the number of victims. La Tercera reports two women, while BioBioChile reports four people.
A police officer driving his private car to start his shift saw what was happening, got out and identified himself. According to CNN Chile, the group threatened him. The officer fired his personal weapon and hit one of the individuals, who was arrested. The other three fled in different directions.
"The robbery is thwarted the moment the officer gets out of the vehicle and uses his firearm", said Lieutenant Colonel Ángel Lorca of the Prefectura Santiago Cordillera, the Carabineros command for the area. He added that the officer's weapon is properly registered and that he is in good health.
The arrested man is an adult Chilean with a police record, according to Lorca. He was taken to a medical facility, where he remains with injuries of an undisclosed nature.
One of the victims suffered a minor head injury, caused by the handle of a screwdriver, and received medical care. That tool was also recovered and is undergoing forensic analysis. The other woman was unharmed, according to La Tercera.
A neighbor told CNN Chile there is concern about other incidents in the area. "This neighborhood is a really quiet neighborhood", she said.
The case is at the arrest stage. The sources do not report which prosecutor's office is leading the investigation or the case number. According to BioBioChile, authorities are awaiting the detainee's medical progress to decide whether he will go to a detention review hearing (where a judge examines whether the arrest was lawful) or directly to formalización, in which the Fiscalía (Public Prosecutor's Office) informs him of the formal charges, within the next few hours.
