Brazil sniper nearly shot policeman at World Cup game

SAO PAULO -- Brazilian officials say a police sniper almost opened fire against an armed man seen approaching President Dilma Rousseff and other officials as they watched the June 12 opening game of the World Cup in Sao Paulo.

The Sao Paulo state security secretariat on Friday confirmed the incident and said in a statement that "there was a communications error that was quickly fixed." It did not reveal further details.

The Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that first reported the story said the sniper saw an armed man approaching Rousseff, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and requested permission to shoot him.

He was told to hold off and minutes later the suspect was identified as a police officer who was said to be investigating a suspected bomb threat.