Four children were killed and at least five others injured on Wednesday 5th April 2023 after a 25-year-old man armed with a small axe launched a deadly attack on a preschool in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.
The assailant entered the daycare centre by jumping over a wall before attacking the children. The victims were aged between five and seven years old.
The man turned himself in at a police station and authorities say he had no apparent connection to the daycare centre, which offered nursery services, preschool education, and after-school activities. Investigators are still searching for a motive.
Weeping parents were seen outside the private daycare centre, called Cantinho Bom Pastor, and Blumenau’s mayor, Mário Hildebrandt, announced that the city would declare a 30-day mourning period.
Amid rumours of potential further attacks on social media, the city has suspended classes.
Five wounded children, aged between three and five, were taken to hospitals.
