A nursery in southern Brazil was the scene of scenes of horror on Wednesday, April 5, when a 25-year-old man burst in and killed four children with an axe. In this country, attacks on schools have increased in recent years.

The tragedy took place in the morning in Blumenau, a city of about 360,000 inhabitants in the state of Santa Catarina, in a private nursery where there were about forty children.

"The perpetrator of the attack jumped over the wall of the nursery armed with a small axe. (...) He used it to hit children, especially in the head," fire chief Diogo de Souza Clarindo told a press briefing.

According to him, the victims, three boys and one girl, were between five and seven years old. The attacker also wounded four children, all hospitalized "in stable condition", the local Santo Antonio hospital told AFP.

Military Police said the suspect surrendered and was taken into custody. According to several media reports, citing police sources, he was under a "psychotic crisis" at the time of the attack, and had no connection with the nursery.

"It is with great sadness that I learned that an assassin broke into the private nursery Cantinho do Bom Pastor, in Blumenau, and attacked children and employees," Governor Jorginho Mello said in a statement.

Blumenau City Hall declared an official 30-day mourning and cancelled classes at all municipal schools on Wednesday.

In a testimony to the website of the daily Folha de S. Paulo, an employee of the nursery said she locked the room where the babies were to protect them from the assailant.

Lula evokes a "monstrous" act

This new attack on a school has aroused strong emotion in Brazil. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva immediately sent a message of condolence to the families, condemning this "monstrous" act.

"There is no greater pain for a family than losing children, or grandchildren, especially in an act of violence against innocent and defenseless children," the head of state tweeted.

Não há dor maior que a de uma família que perde seus filhos ou netos, ainda mais em um ato de violência contra crianças inocentes e indefesas. Meus sentimentos e preces para as famílias das vítimas e comunidade de Blumenau diante da monstruosidade ocorrida na creche Bom Pastor.

— Lula (@LulaOficial) April 5, 2023

The situation was tense around the nursery: images from the G1 site showed a heavy presence of rescue workers and police, while several dozen people waited for news behind the security cordon.

"Calm down, only the parents" [are allowed in]," shouted a policeman.

"My wife is in shock," the husband of a nursery worker told reporters.

"She told me that when the guy left, she tried to resuscitate a child, but was unsuccessful," he added.

Attacks on schools have increased in Brazil in recent years. In November, a 16-year-old boy killed four people at two schools in Aracruz, southeastern state of Espirito Santo.

Last week, a 71-year-old teacher was stabbed to death by a 13-year-old student in Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous city and economic capital.

The deadliest attack took place in 2011, when a former student of a primary school killed 12 children before ending his life with a gun, in the popular neighborhood of Realengo, in Rio de Janeiro (southeast).

With AFP

The summary of the week France 24 invites you to look back on the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news with you everywhere! Download the France 24 app