Security forces stand in front of the crèche where a man killed four children
Quelle: AFP/ANDERSON COELHO
A 25-year-old man used an ax to break into a private daycare center in the emigrant city of Blumenau in southern Brazil. He killed at least four children under the age of seven and was later arrested without resistance. President Lula speaks of a “monstrosity”.
BAt least four people have died in an armed attack on a crèche in the southern Brazilian city of Blumenau. This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the military police of the state of Santa Catarina for the German Press Agency on Wednesday. Other victims were taken to hospitals in the city, which was dominated by German immigrants, for treatment.
Accordingly, a 25-year-old had penetrated the private facility and had attacked children under the age of twelve. According to the Brazilian news portal “G1”, he is said to have been armed with an axe. According to the police, the attacker turned himself in at the station. He was arrested and handed over to the civilian police. His motive was initially unknown.
According to the regional government, all four fatalities are children. According to the news portal “G1”, the fatalities are three boys and one girl between the ages of five and seven. According to government sources, four were injured. Governor Mello said the act fills him with “deep sadness”.
City announces 30-day mourning period
The “G1” website showed video footage of rescue workers and police officers standing in front of the kindergarten and dozens of people waiting behind a barrier tape. A police officer asked the crowd to keep quiet. Only the parents of the daycare children were allowed into the building.
Rescue workers stand in front of the facility in Blumenau, where a young man is said to have killed four children
Those: AP/Denner Ovidio
The attack shocked Brazil, the schools in Blumenau are closed for the time being
Quelle: AFP/PATRICK RODRIGUES
Blumenau Mayor Mário Hildebrandt said five injured children were taken to hospitals. One is in serious condition. The city has suspended classes in schools and will declare a 30-day mourning period.
Television pictures showed crying parents in front of the private day care center “Cantinho do Bom Pastor”. Local media reported that the man jumped over a wall to get onto the site. Founded and shaped by German immigrants, the town of Blumenau has a population of 366,000 and is known for its annual Oktoberfest.
“There is no greater pain than that of a family who loses their children or grandchildren, especially in an act of violence against innocent and defenseless children,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wrote on Twitter. “My condolences and prayers go out to the families of the victims and to the community of Blumenau at the atrocity that happened at the Bom Pastor Day Care Center.”
The attack came less than ten days after a teacher was seriously injured in a knife attack at a school in the Brazilian metropolis of São Paulo, and other victims were injured. A 13-year-old was arrested. After a killing spree in the city of Suzano in March 2019 that left ten dead, police controls at schools in São Paulo were stepped up.
The act of a young knife attacker about two years ago, who broke into a preschool in southern Brazil and killed five people, also caused horror.
Compared to other countries, such attacks are rather rare in the largest country in Latin America. While Brazil is one of the countries with the highest rates of violent crime, organized crime, petty criminals and police violence account for most of it.
