A 25-year-old man stormed into a preschool in southern Brazil on Wednesday and killed four children with an ax before surrendering to police.
A 25-year-old man stormed into a preschool in southern Brazil on Wednesday and killed four children with an ax before surrendering to police.
The attack took place at the Good Shepherd Center, a private preschool in Blumenau, Santa Catarina state, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called it “horrific.”
The gunman, who injured four other children, rode a motorcycle to a state police station and surrendered after the attack, police and government officials in Santa Catarina state said.
The attacker mainly stabbed his victims in the head, emergency services official Diogo di Souza Clarindo told reporters. He killed three boys and one girl between the ages of five and seven.
The injured children – two girls aged five and two boys aged three and five – are in a stable condition, the hospital where they are being treated said.
The attack was carried out by Luis Enrique di Lima, a resident of the state of Santa Catarina, who had previously been arrested at least four times, including for stabbing his foster father.
He acted alone, police chief Ulysses Gabriel told a news conference, ruling out a “coordinated” attack.
The town of Blumenau declared 30 days of mourning and canceled schools and Easter celebrations.
Brazil has seen an increase in school violence in recent years. Last week, a 13-year-old boy killed a teacher at a school in São Paulo with a knife.
Last November, a 16-year-old teenager shot dead four people and wounded more than 10 in attacks at two schools in Aracruz, Espiritu Santo state.
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