AN organized “crime gang” besieged the coastal Brazilian city of Criciuma early yesterday, robbing bank branches and temporarily taking hostages, according to the police and the mayor.

Armed men shot at least two people, according to the mayor and the police.

A military police commander said a police officer was among those shot. Their condition was not immediately clear.

The siege began just before midnight Monday and continued into yesterday morning, lasting about an hour. Clesio Salvaro, the mayor of Criciuma, said in a post on Twitter just before 2 a.m. local time that the city was under attack, and ordered residents to stay at home.

“Criciuma is the target of a major assault,” he wrote. “Together with the military authorities and security forces, we continue to monitor and follow the facts. Stay at home.”

Salvaro added that about six people were taken hostage, but they were later freed. “I talked to them. They are well. The information we have is that everyone was released,” Salvaro said in an interview with GloboNews, the largest news outlet in Brazil.

At around 6 a.m. yesterday, four people believed to be involved in the heist had been arrested, and the police had recovered some of the money the attackers had stolen, local reports said.

Residents on social media reported hearing loud gunfire, according to Globo. Video footage online showed people grabbing what appeared to be cash off the streets. On Twitter, others reported that the attackers had bazookas and bombs and were setting fire to buildings, in what they described as a scene resembling a horror film.

The Military Police of Santa Catarina — a state agency with numerous battalions — were called in and were seeking reinforcements to confront the group, according to local reports.

The police could not immediately be reached for comment.

(SD-Agencies)