Brazilian Gang 'Held Nurses Hostage' To Vaccinate Rio Favela

A wanted drug dealer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil kidnapped medical staff so that his community could be vaccinated against the current crisis of yellow fever in the country, local media reported.

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Thomaz Vieira Gomes, also known as 2N, kidnapped two male nurses from the Itauna vaccination post, along with his gang. The group took as many syringes and vaccine doses as they could find, then transported the nurses and equipment to one of the poorest favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Salgueiro.

The gang then watched over as the nurses administered vaccines to the community over the course of two hours. The nurses were driven back to their workplace after they were done.

In their report, the two health workers said the kidnappers were not aggressive, saying they only carried out their actions because many in the Salgueiro pueblo were not able to visit immunization centers to get their yellow fever shot.

News of the gang’s action went viral last week on social media, with 2N praised as a “modern-day Robin Hood.”

State deputy Carlos Minc, a former Minister of Environment under Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s presidency, also took to Twitter to comment that the act was a “public service.”

The Municipal Health Secretariat of Rio de Janeiro has said they will open an administrative process to investigate the incident.