Boys play around an attacked bus burned with molotov cocktails by gang members in Campo Limpo neighborhood, a south area of Sao Paulo, Brazil. A powerful gang that has launched an offensive against Brazilian police attacked civilian targets for the first time, terrorizing Sao Paulo in three nights of violence that has left 81 dead, officials said. (Xinhua photo)

SAO PAULO, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Sao Paulo experienced its third day of terror and traffic chaos on Monday after street and prison violence at the weekend, with the official death toll having reached 81.

    Armed attackers targeted police stations, patrol cars, banks and municipal buses in 180 incidents across the Sao Paulo state.

    In addition to street attacks, 20 prisons across the state experienced riots. The assailants are still believed to hold 83 hostages, mostly guards or their family members.

    The state's Security Ministry said the toll included 28 police officers, eight jail wardens, three civil guards and four civilians. The remaining 38 dead were attackers.

    The violence has also left 49 people injured and led to the arrests of 91 suspected attackers, who are now in the custody of the Organized Crime Investigation Department.

    Authorities said the attacks were ordered on Friday night by the so-called First Capital Command, Sao Paulo's largest crime organization, in reprisal for the transfer of its imprisoned leaders to higher security locations.

    The assaults on buses caused public transport chaos, leaving more than 3 million people without transport. Hundreds of schools closed, amid fears that children might be caught up in street violence.

    The mobility of the 20 million people living in the Sao Paulo industrial belt suffered further complication with police setting up a large number of control posts, aimed at trapping suspected attackers.

    However, state governor Claudio Lembo has ruled out imposing a curfew and has rejected an offer by the federal government to deploy soldiers in the streets.

    Following a meeting with the Justice Minister Marco Thomaz Bastos, he told reporters: "Although we appreciate the offer, now is not the time to put soldiers in the street. The Sao Paulo police are well-equipped to tackle this crisis."

    Sao Paulo's police commander Colonel Eliseu Eclair said less violence took place than the weekend, but warning that rumors and the "novelty" of violence had "fed an exaggerated panic."

    Still, lingering fears were reported with local businesses allowing workers to go home earlier than usual in case of another night of shooting.

    In the city of Sao Paulo, the Catholic University suspended evening classes, while Iguatemi and Market Place -- the city's largest malls -- closed at 4 p.m. local time. Downtown corporations even let their staff return home at noon. Enditem

More photos:

A public bus burns after being torched by gangsters, as the unprecedented wave of violence went into its third day, in the eastern district of Sao Paulo May 15, 2006. Heavily armed gangsters attacked police posts, banks and public buses around Sao Paulo State for a third night, as the death toll passed 80, the state security office said on Monday. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Brazilian firefighters extinguish the flames on public bus that was torched by gangsters, as the unprecedented wave of violence went into its third day, in the eastern district of Sao Paulo May 15, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

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