Thirteen children aged four and five were freed after being held for hours inside a municipal kindergarten in the Brazilian city of Curitiba. Police shot dead the man holding them, who had threatened to set the building on fire, the authorities said.
Special forces intervention
“We managed to neutralise this person and save the 13 children, who were handed over to first aid services (...) to receive care,” Colonel Alessandro Lopes Dias, head of the Military Police special forces in Paraná state, told a press conference.
At least one of the children had been injured by the man, the officer added.
How the hostage-taking unfolded
According to the colonel, the man:
- arrived at the municipal kindergarten by bicycle
- jumped over its fence
- shut himself inside a classroom with the children
- poured flammable liquid around the room
- took out a lighter, which he kept holding in his hand
He was also carrying a knife. He was initially reported to have a firearm, but this later proved untrue.
“Throughout the negotiation, he kept the children gathered around him, with one on his knees,” the officer said.
Decision to intervene
Negotiations lasted “about two and a half, three hours”. During that time, the colonel said, the children gradually became distressed and the man struck them.
“When we saw that the children were increasingly stressed and that the perpetrator had begun to physically assault them, we opted for a tactical intervention to prevent the worst,” Colonel Lopes Dias said.
Footage broadcast by Brazilian television networks showed teachers and staff leading the other children out of the school.
According to media reports, gunshots and loud bangs similar to stun grenades were heard during the operation.
The hostage-taker
Police released the man’s details after his death. They also revealed that he had a history of schizophrenia.
At this stage, it is not clear what his motives were, or whether he had any connection to the kindergarten.
“The 13 children are alive and safe! After moments of great tension and anguish, this is the news we were all waiting for,” Curitiba Mayor Eduardo Pimentel wrote on Instagram.
Previous attacks on schools in Brazil
Brazil has recorded several attacks on educational institutions in recent years. In April 2023, a man killed four children with an axe at a day-care centre in Blumenau, also in the south of the country.
