BLUMENAU, Brazil (AP) - A man armed with an axe burst into a day care center in Brazil on Wednesday and killed four children, authorities said, in an attack that shocked the country and puts pressure on the government to stem a rising tide of violence.
At least four other children were injured during the attack in Blumenau, a city of 366,000 inhabitants located in the south of the country near the Atlantic coast.
The assailant, who jumped over a wall to enter the daycare center, turned himself in at a police barracks, officials said. He did not appear to have any connection to the center, which offers day care, preschool education and after-school activities. The children who died were between the ages of 5 and 7, officials said.
Authorities were trying to determine the motive, the police detective leading the investigation, Ronnie Esteves, told reporters.
Hours after the attack, the Ministers of Education and Justice pledged to invest in violence prevention measures.
Valeria Aparecida Camilo, mother of a 5-year-old girl who attends the daycare center, said she was at work when one of her co-workers saw the news. She quickly called her husband, Gustavo, who rushed out to the school and later learned that her daughter had survived.
"As soon as I saw her I felt relief," Gustavo Camilo told The Associated Press outside the scene. "But we are very sorry for everything that has happened, with all those children who ended up dying."
"They have no malice, they are children," Valeria added. "They are 5-year-old children - what did a 5-year-old do to this person?"
Franciele Chequeto said one of the murdered girls was a friend of her son Gabriel, 7.
"He doesn't understand what happened," Chequeto commented. "I sat down with him and told him that he won't be able to see some of his little friends anymore."
The head of the state civil police, Ulisses Gabriel, confirmed that the attacker is a 25-year-old man from the neighboring state of Paraná. He will be charged with murder and attempted murder. Police believe the attack was an isolated incident and is not related to any other crime, Gabriel said.
Scenes broadcast on television showed parents crying in front of the private daycare center, called Cantinho do Bom Pastor.
The attack took place in the nursery's playground, according to NSC, the local affiliate of the Globo TV network. The broadcaster showed a photo of the suspect, who had a shaved head. Police have not confirmed his identity.
Blumenau Mayor Mário Hildebrandt suspended classes in the city and said he will declare 30 days of mourning. The state government said any reports of other attacks or threats against schools in the region were false.
Attacks on schools in Brazil have been occurring more frequently in recent years. Last week, a student in Sao Paulo stabbed a teacher to death and injured several others.
Brazil has recorded at least one previous attack on a kindergarten. It also occurred in the state of Santa Catarina in 2021, when an assailant stabbed to death three children under the age of 2 and two adults.
From 2000 to 2022, 16 attacks or acts of violence have been recorded in schools, four of them in the second half of last year, according to a report by a group of researchers led by Daniel Cara, professor of pedagogy at the University of Sao Paulo. The researchers - psychologists, sociologists, public school educators, journalists and activists - prepared the report at the request of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Brazilian Justice Minister Flávio Dino told the press in Brasilia that he would allocate 150 million reais (US$30 million) from the national public safety fund to strengthen school safety.
Education Minister Camilo Santana announced the creation of a group to deal with school violence. Santana will lead the group, which is scheduled to meet for the first time on Thursday.
