Brazilian police have rescued 13 children who were taken hostage at a kindergarten in the southern city of Curitiba, after killing the suspect, who had threatened to set fire to the building, according to officials. The incident happened on Friday, and at least one child was wounded, the commander of the military police special forces unit in Parana state, Alexandre Lopes Dias, told reporters.
Lopes Dias did not say who or what caused the child’s injury. Parana police spokesperson Leticia Martins said the suspect jumped the gate, broke into a classroom and held the children there.
How the kindergarten siege in Curitiba unfolded
Martins said the man spread a flammable substance in the room and held a lighter in his hand. He also carried a knife and an object that was first believed to be a firearm, but was later found to be fake.
The school is in the Sao Braz neighbourhood of Curitiba, a city of 1.8 million residents about 400km (250 miles) south of Sao Paulo.
Negotiations and the police tactical intervention
Lopes Dias said the suspect was a man who suffered from schizophrenia, though he did not reveal the man’s identity or explain how he was killed. Talks lasted up to three hours. According to Lopes Dias, the man kept the children close, with one on his lap, but the children became agitated and the attacker began hitting them.
“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,” Lopes Dias said. Martins said negotiators had been in place but saw “no alternative but to neutralise him.”
Local media broadcast footage of tearful parents waiting outside the school while negotiations continued. Minutes after what local media described as flash bangs, officers came out carrying some of the children.
Mayor and city hall respond to the rescue
Curitiba Mayor Eduardo Pimentel wrote on Instagram that the 13 children were alive and safe, calling it the news everyone had been waiting for after a tense period. Curitiba City Hall said in a statement that the children and school staff would receive psychological support.
Brazil has seen several recent attacks on schools. In April 2023, a man killed four children with an axe at a day care in Blumenau, also in southern Brazil.
