President Lula condemns the ‘despicable and cowardly act’ as authorities apprehend a 25-year-old man following the tragic incident in the southern state of Santa Catarina.

In a horrifying tragedy, four children aged between five and seven lost their lives and at least five others were injured when a 25-year-old man armed with a small axe brutally attacked a pre-school in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. The assailant, who had no apparent connection to the Cantinho Bom Pastor daycare center, turned himself in at a police station following the attack. Authorities and investigators in Blumenau, a city near the Atlantic coast, are still searching for a motive behind the gruesome incident.

The private daycare center, which provides nursery services, pre-school education, and after-school activities, became a site of inconsolable grief as images broadcast on networks showed distraught parents outside the facility. In response to the attack and rumors of potential further incidents on social media, Blumenau’s mayor, Mário Hildebrandt, announced that the city would suspend classes and declare a 30-day mourning period.

Five injured children aged between three and five were transported to hospitals, with one in critical condition. Sadly, Brazil has witnessed an increase in school attacks in recent years, including a student in São Paulo who fatally stabbed a teacher and wounded several others last week. The country has also experienced a previous attack on a daycare center in Santa Catarina state in 2021, when a perpetrator used a dagger to kill three children under two years old and two adults.

According to a report prepared for the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from 2000 to 2022, there have been 16 attacks or violent episodes in schools, four of which took place in the second half of last year alone. The report was compiled by researchers led by Daniel Cara, an education professor at the University of São Paulo. In response to the recent tragedy, President Lula expressed his condolences on Twitter, saying:

“There is no greater pain than that of a family who loses its children or grandchildren, even more so in an act of violence against innocent and defenseless kids.”

He offered his thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims and the Blumenau community as they grapple with the enormity of the attack.

Blumenau, a city of 366,000 residents, is renowned for its annual Oktoberfest festival, but this heinous act of violence has left the community reeling and mourning the loss of innocent lives.