Visitors to the Olympic equestrian center were rattled on Saturday when a bullet pierced the roof of the tent and landed on the floor during competition.
According to NBC Olympics, the military style bullet entered the tent during lunch while competition was in progress. Fortunately no one was hurt and officials found no reason to call for a halt to competition.
“Authorities are investigating: the type of bullet, the distance, where it comes from, why it comes here,” organizing committee spokesman Mario Andrada said.
“Obviously this is a worrying situation and is not an incident we can take lightly as the safety of everyone at our venue – athletes, horses, media and spectators – is of prime importance,” FEI president Ingmar De Vos said in a statement.
“The Rio 2016 organizing committee have told us that the three authorities involved in security in Brazil, the military, civil police and national guard, have stated categorically that our venue was not the target, and that this incident has nothing to do with the games.”
Officials believe the bullet discovery was an unfortunate incident but are reassuring the world-wide audience that the event, which is situated on military land, is completely safe.
“As soon as we have information we will disclose that, especially where it comes from, why it got here and what kind of bullet it was,” Andrada added. “In the meantime, all the authorities have assured us that they have reinforced security around this area.
No additional threats have been made to the Olympic area that have been made public.Let’s hope the games continue to be a safe haven for the athletes and attendees.