Harry Styles’ merchandise truck hijacked by gunmen ahead of Brazil show

Los Angeles, Dec. 10 (IANS): A truck carrying Harry Styles’ tour merchandise was hijacked by a group of armed men in Brazil.

The incident happened a few days before the ‘As It Was’ hitmaker’s performance at Pedreira Paulo Leminski, reports aceshowbiz.com.

As reported by Brazilian outlet G1, the van was driving south on the motorway towards the southern city of Curitiba, where the singer is due to perform on Friday, December 10.

It is said that three men, two of whom were reportedly armed, stopped the vehicle on the BR-116 road, which is also known as Brazil’s ‘Highway to Hell’, with the attackers yet to be discovered.

Brazil’s ‘Highway to Hell’ earned the nickname for its disturbing history of child exploitation along its stretch of over 1,500 miles. The highway has also become known for its danger to drivers and has had record-setting numbers of fatal accidents on its route.

It was initially reported by local media that the truck contained Harry’s musical instruments and that they had been stolen, but it was then clarified that it was actually a truck containing merchandise, including T-shirts, posters and other various merchandise products, for the tour.

Local police added that the attackers “subdued” the driver of the truck, though no details on any potential injuries have been released.

There is no word yet on whether Harry’s show in Curitiba will go ahead. Following his show at Curitiba, he’s set to play in Sao Paulo on December 12 and 13, continuing the South American leg of his ‘Love on Tour’ shows.

The ‘Watermelon Sugar’ crooner has a total of four shows scheduled across Brazil.

‘Love on Tour’ was originally set to take place in 2020 but it had to be rescheduled due to the Covid pandemic.

In other news, a fan invaded the Harry’s stage while he was performing the One Direction song ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ during his gig at Rio De Janeiro’s Jeunesse Arena on Thursday, December 8.

The said fan appeared to be trying to make their way towards the singer with their arms flailing. After the invader was tackled and removed by security, Harry told the crowd: “Well, that was something.”