Rio de Janeiro: A Russian diplomat reportedly tackled and killed a would-be robber near Rio's Olympic Park on Thursday morning local time.

The 60-year-old, named in some media reports as Marcos Cesar Feres Braga, was stuck in traffic at the Avenida das Americas in Barra da Tijuca, when a robber approached the car by motorbike.

In a statement to Fairfax Media, Rio Civil Police said the Homicide Squad confirmed the lawyer, who holds a vice-consul post in the Russian consulate, then wrestled with the assailant and, during the fight, the assailant's gun went off killing him.

The local Extra newspaper, however, reported the diplomat used his jiu-jitsu skills to grab the attacker, pull him into the car, take his gun and shoot him. An accomplice on a second motorcycle fled, Extra said.