A man in his mid-twenties with a hatchet hopped over a wall and went on a killing spree in a kindergarten in Brazil, killing four children according to authorities. The victims are reportedly three boys and a girl, ranging from five to seven years old.
ADVERTISEMENTA man in his mid-twenties with a hatchet hopped over a wall and went on a killing spree in a kindergarten in Brazil, killing four children according to authorities.
The victims are three boys and a girl, ranging from five to seven years old.
Shortly afterwards, the assailant turned himself into a police station and did not appear to have any connection to the daycare centre. Authorities are now searching for a motive.
The incident occurred in the southern city of Blumenau in the state of Santa Catarina. In 2021, the same state saw a similar attack on a daycare centre, where an assailant used a dagger to kill three children under 2 years old and two adults.
From 2000 to 2022, 16 attacks or violent episodes occurred in schools across Brazil, four of them in the second half of last year, according to a report led by the University of Sao Paulo.
Santa Catarina’s governor Jorginho Mello declared three days of mourning, while Blumenau’s mayor Mário Hildebrandt suspended classes. The state government also said in a statement that rumours circulating on social media of other potential attacks were false.
Blumenau, a city of 366,000 people, is famous for its annual Oktoberfest festival.