Dismay, sadness and unanswered questions in southern Brazil: After the armed attack in a crèche with four dead children in the city of Blumenau, which was founded and shaped by German immigrants, the authorities are investigating the background.
“The act is not related to any other criminal practice,” Santa Catarina State Civil Police Commissioner Ulisses Gabriel said at a news conference. “Nor is it coordinated, for example through social networks or conversations between criminals.” Gabriel emphasized that it was an isolated case.
According to the military police and the city of Blumenau, the 25-year-old attacker from the neighboring state of Paraná armed with an ax entered a private daycare center on Wednesday morning, where he attacked the children. According to the police, the man turned himself in after the crime. He was arrested and handed over to the civilian police.
The alleged perpetrator is said to have stabbed his stepfather
Four children between the ages of four and seven were killed in the attack. According to police commissioner Gabriel, other injured children had been taken to Blumenau hospitals for treatment and were in stable condition.
The motive of the 25-year-old was initially unknown. He had already attracted attention several times, including for stabbing his stepfather. Now, according to Gabriel, he has to answer for four murders and three attempted murders.
Blumenau announced 30 days of mourning. Classes in the public education network on Wednesday and Thursday were canceled. City guards and military police are expected to patrol the area around the schools when it resumes on Monday.
“There is no greater pain than that of a family losing 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 the community of Blumenau for the atrocity that happened at the Bom Pastor daycare center.”
Attack on teacher in São Paulo just days before
Less than ten days earlier, a teacher died 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.
Compared to other countries, such attacks are rather rare in the largest country in Latin America. Brazil is one of the countries with the highest rates of violent crime, but organized crime, petty criminals and police violence account for the vast majority of it.
