Ryan Lochte and three of his U.S. swimming teammates may have had a gun pulled on them early Sunday morning by someone who was demanding money, but one report claims it was not a random armed robbery.
According to the Daily Mail, Brazilian authorities have obtained surveillance footage that shows the four U.S. swimmers destroying a gas station bathroom. A security guard reportedly demanded that they pay for the damages and drew his gun on them when they refused.
“They stopped at a gas station and they were all really drunk. They went to the toilet and damaged it pretty badly,” a source told the Daily Mail. “The security guy saw them and started arguing with them – telling them they had to pay. They refused and argued back. He pointed his gun at them and insisted they pay for the damage – they gave him some money and left.”
That would certainly help explain why the alleged “robber” only took cash and all four swimmers kept their credentials.
News first emerged on Sunday that Lochte was robbed at gunpoint, and his mother confirmed the story. A judge in Brazil on Wedensday ordered the passports of Lochte and Jimmy Feigen to be seized and told the swimmers to not leave the country. Lochte had already returned home to the U.S., but Feigen remained in Rio. Two other swimmers, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, were later pulled off an airplane and detained.
Police said earlier this week that Lochte and his teammates were too intoxicated to remember details of the robbery. One law enforcement official felt that the four men were not acting like they had just been robbed at gunpoint when they returned to the Olympic village Sunday morning, though you can watch the security footage here and judge for yourself.
Feigen, Bentz and Conger are being held in Brazil for questioning.
Photo: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
