BLUMENAU, Brazil (AP) — A man with a hatchet burst into a daycare center Wednesday in Brazil, killing four children, authorities said, in an attack that shook the country and put pressure on the government to curb a rising tide of violence.
At least four other children were wounded in the attack in Blumenau, a city of 366,000 in southern Brazil, near the Atlantic coast.
The assailant, who got inside by jumping over a wall, turned himself in at a police station, officials said. He did not appear to have any connection with the center, which offers nursery services, preschool education and after-school activities. The dead were between the ages of 5 and 7, authorities said.
Authorities were searching for a motive, the police detective leading the investigation, Ronnie Esteves, told television reporters.
Hours after the attack, the justice and education ministers pledged to invest in new violence-prevention efforts.
Valeria Aparecida Camilo, the mother of a 5-year-old girl at the center, said she was working when a colleague saw the news. She called her husband, Gustavo, who rushed to the school and later learned that his daughter had survived.
“The moment I saw her, it was a relief,” Gustavo Camilo told The Associated Press outside the center. “But we feel sorry for everything that has happened, with the other kids who wound up dying.”
“They have no cruelty, they’re kids,” Valeria added. “They’re 5 years old. What did a 5-year-old do to this person?”
Franciele Chequeto said one of the girls killed was friends with her 7-year-old son, Gabriel.
“He wasn’t understanding,” Chequeto said. “I sat down and told him that he no longer will be able to see some of his little friends.”
The state’s civil police chief, Ulisses Gabriel, confirmed that the attacker was a 25-year-old man from neighboring Parana state. He will be charged with murder and attempted murder. Police believe the attack was an isolated act and not related to any other crimes, Gabriel said.
Images broadcast on networks showed weeping parents outside the private day care center called Cantinho do Bom Pastor.
The attack took place on the center’s playground, according to the local affiliate of television network Globo. NSC, the affiliate, showed a photo of the suspect with a closely shaved head. Police have yet to confirm his identity.
