Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A family of five -- including two children -- taken hostage for a bank robbery in a small Brazilian town were among a dozen people killed Friday in an ensuing shootout with police.
The family had been traveling by car through Milagres on their way home to Serra Talhada, in the nearby state of Pernambuco, when the robbers intercepted them, using a truck to block their way. A sixth person was also taken hostage in the same manner, G1 Globo reported.
As police confronted the criminals, the gunmen killed the six hostages, including the two children.
Six of the robbers were also killed, according to the prefect of Milagres, Lielson Landim, Tribuna do Ceara reported, citing Band News FM radio.
Two other suspects were arrested, while a third suspect, injured during the shootout, was in the hospital, G1 Globo reported.
Milagres is a town of 28,000 people in the state of Ceara, more than 1,100 miles north of the country's capital Brasilia.
Tribuna do Ceara identified the head of the family as Joao Batista Magalhaes, owner of an information technology store in Serra Talhada. A neighbor of the family said the entire town was shocked by the deaths.
