Police rescued 13 children after a hostage situation at a kindergarten in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba on Friday. The suspect was killed by officers after he threatened to set fire to the building, according to authorities.
The man jumped the gate of the school in the Sao Braz neighbourhood, broke into a classroom and held the children hostage, Parana state police spokesperson Leticia Martins told journalists. He spread a flammable substance in the room and held a lighter. He also carried a knife and what was initially believed to be a firearm but later found to be fake.
Negotiations lasted up to three hours. As the children became agitated, the suspect began hitting them, said military police special forces commander Alexandre Lopes Dias. “Once we realised that the kids were becoming increasingly upset and that the attacker started assaulting them physically, we opted for a tactical intervention to avoid a greater problem,” he explained. Officers entered the classroom using what Lopes Dias described as a “very tactical approach with little risk for the children.”
The suspect was identified as a man with schizophrenia, Lopes Dias said, without revealing his identity or how he was killed.
At least one child was wounded in the incident, the commander added, without elaborating on who or what caused the injury.
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.”
Footage from local media showed tearful parents outside the school as negotiations unfolded. Minutes after what media described as flash bangs, officers emerged carrying some of the children.
Curitiba City Hall said that children and school staff would receive psychological support. Brazil has experienced multiple attacks on schools in recent years, including a 2023 axe attack at a daycare in Blumenau that killed four children.