Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (CNN)Olympic
medalist Ryan Lochte and three other US swimmers were safe and
cooperating with police Sunday after being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de
Janeiro, the U.S. Olympic Committee said.
One of the bandits reportedly put a gun to Lochte's forehead.
Lochte
and fellow swimmers Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen had left
a hospitality house hosted by France early Sunday in a taxi bound for
the Olympic Village.
The vehicle was "stopped by individuals
posing as armed police officers who demanded the athletes' money and
other personal belongings," said USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky.
Appearing on NBC, Lochte offered chilling details.
"We
got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a police
badge, no lights, no nothing -- just a police badge and they pulled us
over," Lochte told NBC.
"They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down
on the ground -- they got down on the ground. I refused, I was like we
didn't do anything wrong, so -- I'm not getting down on the ground.
"And
then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead
and he said, 'Get down,' and I put my hands up, I was like 'whatever.'
He took our money, he took my wallet -- he left my cell phone, he left
my credentials."
"I think they're all shaken up," Lochte's mother, Ileana Lochte, told USA Today.
Lochte released a statement thanking family, friends, and fans for their support.
"While
it is true that my teammates and I were victims of a robbery early
Sunday morning, what is most important is that we are safe and
unharmed," he said.
Rio de Janeiro civil police told CNN
they have opened an investigation, a few hours after first learning
about the robbery from the media, and had not been contacted by the
USOC.
With 12 Olympic medals, Lochte, 32, is the second-most decorated male Olympic swimmer of all time, behind Michael Phelps.
(original report found here http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/14/sport/us-swimmers-ryan-lochte-robbed-rio-olympics/)
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