Brazilian police have rescued 13 children who had been taken hostage at a kindergarten in the southern city of Curitiba after killing the suspect, who threatened to set fire to the building, according to officials. At least one of the children was wounded in Friday’s incident, the commander of the military police special forces unit in Parana state, Alexandre Lopes Dias, told reporters without elaborating on who or what injured the child. Parana police spokesperson Leticia Martins told journalists outside the kindergarten that the suspect jumped the gate on Friday, broke into a classroom and held 13 children hostage.
He then spread a flammable substance in the room and held a lighter in his hand. He was carrying a knife and also what was initially believed to be a firearm, but later was found to be fake. The incident took place in the neighbourhood of Sao Braz in Curitiba, a city of 1.8 million residents located 400km (250 miles) south of Sao Paulo.
Lopes Dias told reporters the suspect was identified as a man who suffered from schizophrenia, but he did not reveal the man’s identity or how he was killed. Talks lasted up to three hours. The children became agitated, and the attacker started hitting them, Lopes Dias told reporters.
Local media showed footage of tearful parents outside the school waiting for information as the negotiations between the suspect and police were ongoing. Minutes after what local media described as flash bangs, officers emerged carrying some of the children outside. Curitiba Mayor Eduardo Pimentel wrote on Instagram: “The 13 children are alive and safe!
After anguishing and tense moments, this is the news we were all waiting for.” Brazil in recent years has experienced multiple attacks on schools. In April 2023, a man killed four children with an axe at a day care in Blumenau, also in southern Brazil. Curitiba City Hall said in a statement that the children and school staffers would receive psychological support.
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