A Brazilian mugger chose the wrong target when he was shot dead by a Russian diplomat in Rio de Janeiro Thursday afternoon, Brazilian time.

The mugger had tried to hold up the Russian vice-consul in his car shortly after the Olympic torch relay had passed.

The shooting occurred in an area close to the Olympic Village, but Russia denied the shooter was one of its diplomates.

The Daily Mail has reported that Marcos Cesar Feres Braga, a Brazilian lawyer who holds the vice-consul post at the Russian consulate, reportedly grabbed the attacker and pulled him into his BMW SUV after he had smashed the car window and pointed a gun at him, demanding he hand over his watch.

There have been several carjackings in the lead-up to the Games. Photo: Getty.

After a struggle in the car, Braga managed to grab the mugger’s gun, which he used to shoot him dead at point-blank range, according to police reports.

Gunpoint car jackings in Rio’s dense, slow-moving traffic are well known in the Brazilian metropolis, with several visitors reportedly targeted in the weeks before the Games.

Local Russian news service RT quoted Consul General of the Russian Federation in Rio de Janeiro, Vladimir Tokmakov, as having said: “Information circulating in the Brazilian press about the alleged shooting … of a Brazilian national by a Russian diplomat during an armed robbery does not reflect reality”.

Mr Tomakov said all Russian diplomats and security guards “had nothing to do” with the incident.