An off-duty cop in Brazil, who had just dropped his girlfriend home, reacted quickly during a surprise late night hijacking, using a distraction to shoot dead a teenage gunman and injure his armed accomplice.

The 18-year-old, named locally as Pablo Pereira Gomes, was shot in the groin and died on the spot.

The other bandit, Lucas Matos de Oliveira, 22, ran off but was hit twice in the stomach.

This is the moment an off-duty police officer in Brazil uses a distraction - a van driving past - to shoot dead a teenage gunman

He was taken to Santa Casa de Misericordia Hospital and placed under police arrest following emergency surgery.

The cop and his girlfriend escaped unharmed.

The officer, who has not been named for security reasons, was held up by the teen assailant who did not realise his target was a serving policeman carrying a loaded weapon.

The officer, who has not been named, was driving a Kawasaki Ninja, above, and had dropped off his girlfriend (left), when the pair were approached in the street

A weapon is brandished at the off-duty officer, above right

While the off-duty officer was lying on the ground, the bandit's accomplice wandered across

While the cop lay on the ground (left) the second bandit climbed on to the bike

The incident occurred in Vitoria, south east Brazil

Video surveillance cameras situated on an apartment block in Vitoria, south east Brazil, show the officer sitting on his Kawasaki Ninja motorbike on May 10.

He had just dropped his girlfriend home when a bandit suddenly appeared brandishing a weapon and demanding the bike.

The cop calmly followed the orders issued by the attacker and climbed off his bike then got down on the ground.

When a van drove nearby, the bandits were distracted, and the off-duty officer pulled out his gun, right

The man's accomplice can be seen running away, right, after the 18-year-old is shot (left)

The cop's Kawasaki Ninja, that the pair tried to steal in the street

While the young thug kept his pistol trained on him, his side-kick lifted up the motorbike, which had been dropped on its side, and climbed on.

Despite the cop showing no resistance, he was hit repeatedly over the head with the butt of the gun as the hoodie-wearing accomplice joined in the assault.

But in the middle of the assault, a van rounded the corner at the bottom of the road and the headlights appeared to blind the gangsters, which is when the officer sprang into action.

While the passing van momentarily distracted the pair, the cop jumped up, drew his weapon and rapidly fired off three shots, all of which hit the pair.

According to investigators, the cop shouted a warning to the hoodlums to drop their weapons, but Gomes apparently turned as if to fire and Oliveira reportedly reached for a gun in his waistband while jumping off the bike.

It later emerged the teen was carrying a replica.

He was felled by a single shot to the groin and died where he was despite paramedics efforts to save him.

Detectives said the adolescent had a criminal record with 16 arrests for drug trafficking.

Crane operator José Conceição, who was visiting a friend in the building heard the commotion and rushed down to see what was going on.

He said to reporters: 'Suddenly we heard a few gun shots and came down to see what had happened and to see if we could help.

'The boy was already down on the ground at that point and the other one had run off.

'It was very scary. I don't live in the area but in a neighbourhood that doesn't have this level of violence so I'm not accustomed to seeing this type of incident.

'But my friend told me the area has been hit by a crime wave which has made him scared to go out.'

An update on the injured suspect's state of health has not been released.