Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro grimaces right after being stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Bolsonaro, a leading presidential candidate in Brazil, was stabbed during the campaign event, though officials and his son said the injury is not life-threatening. (AP Photo/Raysa Leite)

Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro grimaces right after being stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Bolsonaro, a leading presidential candidate in Brazil, was stabbed during the campaign event, though officials and his son said the injury is not life-threatening. (AP Photo/Raysa Leite)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Jair Bolsonaro, a leading presidential candidate whose heated rhetoric has electrified some voters and angered others in a deeply polarized Brazil, was stabbed at a campaign event Thursday and suffered serious abdominal injuries.

Police said the suspected attacker was in custody.

Dr. Luiz Henrique Borsato, who performed emergency surgery, said Thursday night that the right-wing candidate was in serious but stable condition and would remain in intensive care for at least seven days. The first round of Brazil’s presidential election is Oct. 7.

The doctor said the two-hour procedure stopped serious internal bleeding and repaired most of the damage from the knifing. The candidate will need further surgery within months for a part of his intestines that was temporarily fixed with a colostomy, the surgeon said.

“We can’t say when he will be able to leave hospital,” Borsato said. “But in the first hours after the surgery his recovery has been very satisfactory.”

Numerous videos on social media showed Bolsonaro, who has promised to crack down on crime in Latin America’s largest nation, being stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his stomach while campaigning in Juiz de Fora, a city about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of Rio de Janeiro.

At the moment of the attack, Bolsonaro was on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs up with his left hand.

After the attack, he is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who was apparently the suspect.

Police spokesman Flavio Santiago confirmed to The Associated Press that 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira had been arrested in connection with the incident.

De Oliveira was beaten badly by Bolsonaro supporters after the attack. The man was arrested in 2013 for another assault, police said.

Luis Boudens, president of the National Federation of Federal Police, told AP that the assailant appeared to be mentally disturbed.

“Our agents there said the attacker said he was ‘on a mission from God,’” Boudens reported. “Their impression is that they were not dealing with a mentally stable person. He didn’t expect to be arrested so quickly; agents reacted in seconds.”

Bolsonaro’s son, Flavio Bolsonaro, initially posted on Twitter that the injury was superficial and his father was fine. However, an hour later he posted another tweet saying the wound was “worse than we thought.”

He arrived at the hospital “almost dead,” Flavio wrote. “His condition now seems stabilized. Please pray.”

A statement from federal police said the candidate had bodyguards. In the videos, Bolsonaro does not appear to be wearing a protective vest. Such measures are rare for candidates in Brazil.

“This episode is sad,” President Michel Temer told reporters in Brasilia. “We won’t have a rule of law if we have intolerance.”

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is second in the polls to jailed ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal.

Despite being a congressman since 1991, Bolsonaro is running as an outsider ready to upend the establishment by cracking down on corruption in politics and reducing crime, in part by giving police a freer hand to shoot and kill while on duty.

While Bolsonaro has a strong following, he is also a deeply polarizing figure. He has been fined, and even faced charges, for derogatory statements toward women, blacks and gays.

He speaks nostalgically about the country’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship and has promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders.

Earlier this week, Bolsonaro said during a campaign event that he would like to shoot corrupt members of the leftist Workers’ Party, which made da Silva its candidate. The comment prompted an immediate rebuke from the attorney general, who asked Bolsonaro to explain that comment.

His vice presidential running mate, Hamilton Mourao, is a retired general who blamed leftists for the knife attack.

Underling Brazil’s divisions, people took to Twitter to either to decry the stabbing and ask for prayers for Bolsonaro or to say the candidate had brought it upon himself and even may have staged it.

The top five trending topics in Brazil were related to the stabbing.

Other presidential candidates quickly denounced the stabbing and many of them decided to suspend their campaign events Friday.

“Politics is done through dialogue and by convincing, never with hate,” tweeted Geraldo Alckmin, former governor of Sao Paulo who has focused negative ads on Bolsonaro.

Fernando Haddad, who is expected to take da Silva’s place on the Workers’ Party ticket, called the attack “absurd and regrettable.”

The attack comes at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric, and sometimes violence, related to campaigns and candidates.

In March, while da Silva was on a campaign tour in southern Brazil before his imprisonment, gunshots hit buses in his caravan. No one was hurt, and da Silva, who is in jail on a corruption conviction, was not in the vehicles that were hit.

Also in March, Marielle Franco, a left-leaning black councilwoman in Rio de Janeiro, was shot to death along with her driver after attending an event on empowering black women.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the attack on Bolsonaro might reshape a presidential race very much up in the air with the front-runner, da Silva, in jail. In many ways, the incident feeds Bolsonaro’s narrative that Brazil is in chaos and needs a strong hand to steady it.

“It’s likely that Bolsonaro will use the attack to argue his opponents are desperate, that they had no other way to stop him,” said Mauricio Santoro, a political science professor at Rio de Janeiro’s state university.

A handful of Bolsonaro supporters held a vigil in São Paulo on Thursday night, and briefly exchanged insults with leftists. ‘They made Bolsonaro a martyr,’ said Jonatan Valente, a student. ‘I think the left shot itself in the foot because with this attack they will end up electing Bolsonaro.’”

___

Associated Press reporters Marcelo Silva de Sousa in Rio de Janeiro and Sarah DiLorenzo and Victor Caivano in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.</s>
• Far-right Brazilian politician Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally.
• Footage from the event shows the candidate sitting on a supporters' shoulders and waving to the crowd when a man suddenly plunges a knife into his abdomen.
• His son tweeted that the candidate arrived at the hospital "almost dead" but his condition had stabilized.
• Bolsonaro is known for his controversial and outspoken views, and garnered comparisons to President Donald Trump.
• Brazil's campaign season has already been wrought with controversy as the country gears up for the October 7 elections.

Far-right Brazilian politician Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally on Thursday as the nation gears up for what will likely be a divisive election.

Footage from the event shows the candidate sitting on a supporters' shoulders and waving to the crowd when a man suddenly plunges a knife into his abdomen. Bolsonaro was visibly in pain and was whisked away by his supporters into a car.

The suspected stabber was swiftly jumped and beaten by the crowd of supporters attending the rally. 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira has been identified by police as a suspect. His motive remains unclear.

Bolsonaro's son confirmed the attack on Twitter and initially said the wounds were "superficial," though he later wrote that his father's condition is "more serious than expected."

He added that the knife perforated Bolsonaro's organs, and that he had arrived at the hospital "almost dead." Bolsonaro underwent surgery and his condition appears to have stabilized.

The 63-year-old is known for his nationalistic policies and controversial views against homosexuality, refugees, and minorities. He is widely considered to be the front-runner for the upcoming October elections, and his outspoken political approach and larger-than-life persona has garnered comparisons to President Donald Trump.

Bolsonaro has faced backlash for his statements in the past.

In 2015, he told Brazilian newspaper Zero Hora that men and women should not receive the same salaries as men because women get pregnant. He was also ordered to pay fellow congresswoman Maria do Rosario $2,500 for saying that she was "not worth raping" because "she is very ugly."

Brazil's presidential election has already been wrought with controversy. Two candidates on opposite sides of the political spectrum have been charged with corruption, and former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had began a strong reelection campaign despite being sentenced to 12 years in prison for money laundering and corruption. The Supreme Court barred his candidacy last week, though he has vowed to appeal the decision.</s>Far-right Brazilian politician Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally on Thursday as the nation gears up for what will likely be a divisive election.

Footage from the event shows the candidate sitting on a supporters' shoulders and waving to the crowd when a man suddenly plunges a knife into his abdomen. Bolsonaro was visibly in pain and was whisked away by his supporters into a car.

The suspected stabber was swiftly jumped and beaten by the crowd of supporters attending the rally. 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira has been identified by police as a suspect. His motive remains unclear.

Bolsonaro's son confirmed the attack on Twitter and initially said the wounds were "superficial," though he later wrote that his father's condition is "more serious than expected."

He added that the knife perforated Bolsonaro's organs, and that he had arrived at the hospital "almost dead." Bolsonaro underwent surgery and his condition appears to have stabilized.

The 63-year-old is known for his nationalistic policies and controversial views against homosexuality, refugees, and minorities. He is widely considered to be the front-runner for the upcoming October elections, and his outspoken political approach and larger-than-life persona has garnered comparisons to President Donald Trump.

Bolsonaro has faced backlash for his statements in the past.

In 2015, he told Brazilian newspaper Zero Hora that men and women should not receive the same salaries as men because women get pregnant. He was also ordered to pay fellow congresswoman Maria do Rosario $2,500 for saying that she was "not worth raping" because "she is very ugly."

Brazil's presidential election has already been wrought with controversy. Two candidates on opposite sides of the political spectrum have been charged with corruption, and former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had began a strong reelection campaign despite being sentenced to 12 years in prison for money laundering and corruption. The Supreme Court barred his candidacy last week, though he has vowed to appeal the decision.</s>Brazilian right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro was slightly wounded Thursday when an assailant stabbed him at a rally, the politician's son said.

"Jair Bolsonaro suffered an attack, a stabbing with a knife in the region of the abdomen. But it was only superficial, thank God," and he is well," Flavio Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter.</s>RIO DE JANEIRO — Jair Bolsonaro, a leading Brazilian presidential candidate whose heated rhetoric has electrified some voters and angered others in a deeply polarized electorate, was stabbed during a campaign event Thursday and was undergoing surgery.

Officials and his son said the far-right candidate was in stable condition, though the son also said Bolsonaro suffered severe blood loss and arrived to the hospital "almost dead."

Numerous videos on social media showed Bolsonaro, who has promised to crack down on crime in Latin America's largest nation, being stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his stomach. At the moment of the attack, Bolsonaro was on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs up with his left hand.

After the attack, he is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who was apparently the attacker.

Police spokesman Flavio Santiago confirmed to The Associated Press that his attacker had been arrested.

Bolsonaro was taken to a hospital in the city he was campaigning, Juiz de Fora, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of Rio de Janeiro, and was in good condition, Santiago said.

Santiago said the attacker was identified as Adelio Bispo de Oliveira. He said the suspect was beaten badly by Bolsonaro supporters after the attack. The man was arrested in 2013 for another assault, police said.

Luis Boudens, president of the National Federation of Federal Police, told the AP that the assailant appeared to be deranged.

"Our agents there said the attacker was 'on a mission from God,'" Boudens said. "Their impression is that they were not dealing with a mentally stable person. He didn't expect to be arrested so quickly, agents reacted in seconds."

In a statement, the hospital said Bolsonaro was in surgery but did not elaborate.

Bolsonaro's son, Flavio Bolsonaro, initially posted on Twitter that the injury was superficial and his father was fine. However, an hour later he posted another tweet saying the wound was "worse than we thought."

Flavio said the puncture had hit parts of his father's liver, lung and intestines and he lost a lot of blood.

He arrived at the hospital "almost dead," Flavio wrote. "His condition now seems stabilized. Please pray."

A statement from federal police said the candidate had bodyguards. In the videos, Bolsonaro does not appear to be wearing a protective vest. Such measures are rare for candidates in Brazil.

"This episode is sad," President Michel Temer told reporters in Brasilia. "We won't have a rule of law if we have intolerance."

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is second in the polls to jailed ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal.

Despite being a congressman since 1991, Bolsonaro is running as an outsider ready to upend the establishment by cracking down on corruption in politics and reducing crime, in part by giving police a more free hand to shoot and kill while on duty.

While Bolsonaro has a strong following, he is also a deeply polarizing figure. He has been fined, and even faced charges, for derogatory statements toward women, blacks and gays.</s>Far-right Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro has been stabbed in the street.

He was knifed in the abdomen today while campaigning for next month's election, his son Flavio said in a Twitter message sent from his 

 verified account.

Bolsonaro - sometimes dubbed 'Brazil's Donald Trump' - screamed in pain after being stabbed, then fell backwards into the arms of those around him.

A shocking video appears to show him being carried away by a group of men, as he clutches his stomach.

It took a few moments for the crowd to realise what happened, but they quickly rushed the candidate out of the street.

Bolsonaro is recovering in a hospital from a wound that was "only superficial," his son has confirmed, saying that he was not seriously hurt and is doing fine.

Police in the Brazilian city have arrested a man who allegedly stabbed the presidential candidate.

Globo TV showed images of Bolsonaro in the midst of a crowd in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais state, when he was stabbed.

The news channel says the politician is undergoing surgery.

Fernando Haddad, who will likely be the Workers Party presidential candidate, said the stabbing was a "shame" and a "horror."

Leftist rival Ciro Gomes took to Twitter to express outrage at the political violence.

Brazil's front-running far-right presidential candidate rallied supporters yesterday with a message of a clean break from the past as a new opinion poll showed him consolidating his support among voters.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is running on an anti-graft, law-and-order campaign.

"We're going to sweep the leaders of these parties into the dustbin of history," Bolsonaro told several thousand backers at a rally in a working class suburb of Brazil.

Bolsonaro then kicked into the crowd an inflatable doll portraying jailed former president and PT founder Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lula, who easily leads opinion polls, is banned from running because of a graft conviction.

A poll by Ibope showed Bolsonaro increasing his lead by two percentage points to 22 percent for the October 7 first-round vote,

though he would lose to most rivals in a likely runoff ballot.</s>Brazil's Presidential Front-Runner Is Seriously Wounded In Attack At Campaign Rally

The leading candidate in next month's presidential election in Brazil has been stabbed at a campaign rally and is reportedly in serious but stable condition following surgery.

Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain whose far-right views have placed him ahead in the polls, was being carried on the shoulders of supporters in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais when he was suddenly attacked by someone in the crowd.

Supporters of Bolsonaro then descended on the assailant, beating him before police were able to take the man into custody.

Video of the incident shows Bolsonaro giving a thumbs-up just before being stabbed. The candidate appears to grimace, then double over in pain. He is then lowered and quickly bundled into a car.

Police say they have arrested a 40-year-old man identified as Adelio Obispo de Oliveria in connection with the stabbing. Reuters quotes officials as saying the suspect is mentally disturbed.

According to reports, doctors say it could take Bolsonaro up to two months to fully recover and that he would be in the hospital for at least a week — throwing the rest of the campaign into question.

"His internal wounds were grave and put the patient's life at risk," said Dr. Luiz Henrique Borsato, who operated on the candidate, according to Reuters.

The doctor said the biggest challenge for medical staff would be preventing an abdominal infection.

Bolsonaro has sparked outrage among many in Brazil for his racist and homophobic comments on the campaign trail. Even so, he has remained strong in the polls.

His would-be closest rival, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has been disqualified from the race after being convicted of corruption. Bolsonaro is well ahead of other presidential hopefuls in the opinion polls. They include former Senator Marina Silva and Gerald Alckmin, a former governor of São Paulo.

As Reuters notes, "The attack on Bolsonaro, 63, is a dramatic twist in what was already Brazil's most unpredictable election since the country's return to democracy three decades ago. Corruption investigations have jailed scores of powerful businessmen and politicians in recent years, and alienated infuriated voters."</s>The stabbing of a leading Brazilian presidential candidate has the potential to reshape the election contest after dramatically exposing the deep polarisation in Latin America's largest nation.

Far-right Social Liberal Party congressman Jair Bolsonaro was seriously injured after a man stabbed him in the abdomen during a campaign event in Juiz de Fora.

The former army captain has promised to crack down on crime, and has long argued that Brazil is in chaos and needs a strong hand.

After the attack, Brazilians surged on to social media to argue over whether the incident supports Mr Bolsonaro's assertions that the country is off the rails, or whether his heated rhetoric contributed to inciting the attack.

Dr Luiz Henrique Borsato, who performed emergency surgery on the candidate, said Mr Bolsonaro's recovery is "satisfactory" so far.

He said the candidate would remain in hospital for at least a week after a two-hour operation to stop serious internal bleeding.

In videos of the moment of the attack posted on social media, Mr Bolsonaro could be seen on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs-up sign with his left hand.

He is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who appears to have been the attacker.

A suspect, identified by authorities as 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, was arrested within seconds.

Police did not identify a motive, but one official said the man appeared to be mentally unstable.

After more than four years of revelations of widespread corruption within Brazil's political class, anger is running high in the country, and analysts initially predicted this poll would see huge changes. But no true outside candidate has emerged.

Instead, Mr Bolsonaro, despite being a congressman since 1991, has harnessed much of the anger and presented himself as a maverick who will clean up a corrupt system.

He also promises to confront a surge in crime, in part by giving police a freer hand to shoot to kill while on duty.

The public's anger is partially responsible for making this year's campaign the most unpredictable in years for Brazil, and the attack could lead to another seismic shift.

The man leading the polls, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has been barred from running by electoral authorities because he was convicted of corruption and is in jail. That puts Mr Bolsonaro in the lead position, though it is unclear how the attack might affect the campaign for the October 7 presidential ballot.

In the hours following the attack in Juiz de Fora, about 125 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, Mr Bolsonaro's supporters predicted it would carry him to the presidency.

"They made Bolsonaro a martyr," said Jonatan Valente, a student who joined a small vigil for Mr Bolsonaro in Sao Paulo.

"I think the left shot itself in the foot because with this attack they will end up electing Bolsonaro."

However, it is unknown when the candidate can get out again on the campaign trail or if his injuries will impede his ability to campaign.

Download: The STV News app is Scotland's favourite and is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from Google Play. Download it today and continue to enjoy STV News wherever you are.</s>Bolsonaro was stabbed in the abdomen while in the city of Juiz de Fora in Minas Gerai state.

Brazilian media has reported the far-right candidate suffered a serious liver injury in the attack.

Television images of the campaign rally show Jair Bolsonaro on the shoulders of supporters moments before he was attacked.

After being stabbed, he fell backward into the crowd.

Police in Juiz de Fora say they have arrested a man who they say carried out the attack.</s>A leading presidential candidate in Brazil has been stabbed at a campaign event, suffering serious abdominal injuries.

Dr Luiz Henrique Borsato, who performed emergency surgery, said on Thursday night that right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro was in serious but stable condition and would remain in intensive care for at least seven days.

The first round of Brazil's presidential election is October 7.

The doctor said the two-hour procedure stopped serious internal bleeding and repaired most of the damage from the knifing.

The candidate will need further surgery within months for a part of his intestines that was temporarily fixed with a colostomy, the surgeon said.

"We can't say when he will be able to leave hospital," Dr Borsato said. "But in the first hours after the surgery his recovery has been very satisfactory."

Numerous videos on social media showed Mr Bolsonaro, who has promised to crack down on crime in Latin America's largest nation, being stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his stomach while campaigning in Juiz de Fora, a city about 125 miles north of Rio de Janeiro.

At the moment of the attack, Mrr Bolsonaro was on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs up with his left hand.

After the attack, he is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who was apparently the suspect.

Police spokesman Flavio Santiago confirmed to The Associated Press that 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira had been arrested in connection with the incident.

Mr Bolsonaro's son, Flavio Bolsonaro, initially posted on Twitter that the injury was superficial and his father was fine. However, an hour later he posted another tweet saying the wound was "worse than we thought."

He arrived at the hospital "almost dead," Mr Flavio wrote. "His condition now seems stabilized. Please pray."

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A statement from federal police said the candidate had bodyguards. In the videos, Mr Bolsonaro does not appear to be wearing a protective vest. Such measures are rare for candidates in Brazil.

"This episode is sad," President Michel Temer told reporters in Brasilia. "We won't have a rule of law if we have intolerance."

Mr Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is second in the polls to jailed ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal.

Despite being a congressman since 1991, Mr Bolsonaro is running as an outsider ready to upend the establishment by cracking down on corruption in politics and reducing crime, in part by giving police a freer hand to shoot and kill while on duty.

While Mr Bolsonaro has a strong following, he is also a deeply polarising figure. He speaks nostalgically about the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship and has promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders.

Earlier this week, Mr Bolsonaro said during a campaign event that he would like to shoot corrupt members of the leftist Workers' Party, which made da Silva its candidate.

The comment prompted an immediate rebuke from the attorney general, who asked Mr Bolsonaro to explain that comment.

His vice presidential running mate, Hamilton Mourao, is a retired general who blamed leftists for the knife attack.

Other presidential candidates quickly denounced the stabbing and many of them decided to suspend their campaign events on Friday.

"Politics is done through dialogue and by convincing, never with hate," tweeted Geraldo Alckmin, former governor of Sao Paulo who has focused negative ads on Mr Bolsonaro.

Fernando Haddad, who is expected to take da Silva's place on the Workers' Party ticket, called the attack "absurd and regrettable".

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It was not immediately clear how the attack on Mr Bolsonaro might reshape a presidential race very much up in the air with the front-runner, da Silva, in jail.

A handful of Bolsonaro supporters held a vigil in Sao Paulo on Thursday night, and briefly exchanged insults with leftists.

"They made Bolsonaro a martyr,' said Jonatan Valente, a student. "I think the left shot itself in the foot because with this attack they will end up electing Bolsonaro'."
Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is stabbed in the abdomen and seriously injured at a campaign rally. He is expected to be in intensive care for at least seven days. Police arrest a 40-year-old man they say appears mentally disturbed.