A Jiu-Jitsu Master Russian Diplomat Kills an Attacker in Rio a Day Out from Olympic Launch

Just when you thought the build-up to Rio Olympics couldn't get any worse.

USA Today and the Huffington Post have been reported that Russia's vice-consul to Brazil shot and killed an assailant who attempted to rob his car in Rio de Janeiro today. The 2016 Olympics officially begins tomorrow.

Local media say the diplomat, along with his wife and daughter, were stuck in traffic when the attempted robbery took place.

After one of two attackers smashed open a window, the vice-consul, a jiujitsu expert, is said to have wrestled the gun from the assailant before firing.

Latest Rio crazy crime story? Russian vice consul kills would be mugger with his own gun. Not too far from Olympic Park either.

— Sebastian Smith (@SebastianAFP)August 4, 2016

The incident occurred on the Avenue das Americas in Barra da Tijuca; which is the same suburb as the main Olympic complex. The Australian and New Zealand Olympic teams both plan to hold several athlete press conferences at the complex tomorrow morning.

With 50,000 visitors expected to flock to Rio for the Games, concerns about the safety have been swirling for months.

A Kiwi MMA fighter was kidnapped by police last month, while local media have reported around 15 complaints a day are filed by foreigners regarding street crime.

It was originally planned that Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen would be fake "mugged" in a sketch in tomorrow's Olympics opening ceremony. The sketch has since been dropped.