Miss Brazil robbed at gunpoint in Sao Paolo

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Miss Brazil has been robbed at gunpoint in front of her home.

The Miss Brazil pageant press office says that Debora Lyra was held up at gunpoint as she approached the entrance of her gated condo in Sao Paulo on Sunday.

Monday's statement says a well-dressed man with a pistol approached Lyra as she pulled up to her condominium. He took her purse, which contained her documents, cellphones and credit cards. He also took the car, which she had been given for winning the 2010 pageant.

She then tweeted in frustration: "For how long will these criminals keep doing this? I was just robbed at the entrance to my house."

Lyra will pass her title to the winner of the 2011 Miss Brazil pageant on July 23.

The news will surely be a blow to Brazil's continued attempt at cleaning up its image ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, both of which it will host. Long known for its spiraling violence in its urban centers, Brazilian law enforcement has been aggressively raiding the country's slums in an effort to root out drug gangs.