Much pain after massacre in childcare center in Brazil – motive completely unclear

Dismay, sadness and unanswered questions in southern Brazil: After the armed attack on a nursery with four dead children in the town of Blumenau, founded and designed by German immigrants, the authorities are investigating the background.

“The act is not related to any other criminal activity,” Ulisses Gabriel, Commissioner of the Civil Police of the State of Santa Catarina, said at a press conference on Wednesday (local time). “It is also not coordinated, for example through social networks or conversations between criminals.” Gabriel stressed that it was an isolated case.

According to the military police and the city of Blumenau, the 25-year-old assailant from the neighboring state of Paraná, armed with an ax, entered a private daycare center on Wednesday morning, where he assaulted the children. According to the police, the man turned himself in after the crime. He was arrested and handed over to the civilian police.

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 are in stable condition.

The 25-year-old’s motive was initially unknown. He had attracted attention several times, including for stabbing his stepfather. Now he has to answer for four murders and three attempted murders, according to Gabriel.

Blumenau announced 30 days of mourning. The lessons in the public education network on Wednesday and Thursday were cancelled. 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 Blumenau community given the atrocity that happened at Bom Pastor Daycare.”

Less than ten days earlier, a teacher was killed in a knife attack at a school in the Brazilian metropolis of São Paulo, injuring other victims. A 13-year-old was arrested.

Compared to other countries, such attacks are 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 brutality account for the vast majority. (aeg/sda/dpa)