A teenager kills 3 children and tries to commit suicide in a school in Santa Catarina

Officials in Brazil said that a teenager stormed a day care center in southern Brazil and stabbed three children and two workers at the center yesterday, before police could arrest him.

Local Education Minister Gisela Hermann described the incident as a "horror scene" that occurred at the facility in the city of Sudadis, in the southern state of Santa Catarina.

She told Reuters by phone that the dead included a teacher and an educational assistant.

She added that other children may be admitted to hospital as a result of the attack.

Silvia Fernandes dos Santos, a city official, said the attack took place at around 10 am local time.

She added that the teenage boy tried to kill himself after the attack, but the police managed to arrest and detain him.

"He tried ... to kill himself, but he couldn't. So he was sent to the hospital ... people were angry and wanted to punish themselves," dos Santos told Reuters by phone.