At least three people died and eleven others were injured this Friday when a gunman opened fire at two schools in the southeast of Brazilwhere incidents of violence in schools have increased in recent years.
The shootings occurred in the municipality of Aracruz, in the state of Espírito Santo, some 600 kilometers northeast of Rio de Janeiro, when a man in camouflage clothing entered two educational institutions at mid-morning, during school hours, state authorities reported.
The suspect entered the room first. Escola Primo Bittia public primary and secondary education center, and shot several assembled teachers, killing two people and wounding nine others, they said.
Then, he went to the nearby Praia de Coqueiral Educational Center, a private center for pre-school through secondary education, where he murdered a teenager and injured two more, before being arrested by the police.
So far, the seriousness of the injured is unknown.
The governor of Espírito Santo, Renato Casagrande, announced the capture of the suspect, who according to local media is a minor and attended the Primo Bitti school.
“Our security teams arrested the author of the attack, who cowardly attacked two schools in Aracruz,” said Casagrande, announcing three days of mourning in the state.
In a video from security cameras published in the media, a man in camouflage clothing and a cap is seen running into a school brandishing a gun, while other people flee in his wake. He then raises the gun and fires, without stopping him.
“According to images, he was alone, he broke a padlock to enter the school. (…) He had direct access to the teachers’ room at recess time and thus, unfortunately, he surprised them and attacked them,” said the state secretary for Public Security , Marcio Celante.
Earlier, the mayor of Aracruz, Luiz Carlos Coutinho, had told CBN radio that several people were involved in the attack and implied that the shooter received help.
He also indicated that some of the victims had received threats.
The coastal municipality of Aracruz has about 100,000 inhabitants.
absurd tragedy
Brazil’s president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, called the episode an “absurd tragedy.”
“I learned with sadness about the attack on the schools in Aracruz, Espiritu Santo. My solidarity with the families of the victims of this absurd tragedy. And my support for the governor in the investigation,” tweeted the leftist, who will assume power on May 1. January.
Incidents of armed violence in schools in Brazil have increased in recent years, according to experts.
On March 13, 2019, two former students from a high school near Sao Paulo shot and killed eight people there, most of them students and employees, and then committed suicide.
On April 7, 2011, a 24-year-old former student at a Rio de Janeiro school opened fire at the scene, killing 12 people and wounding several others, before committing suicide.
According to Bruno Langeani, from the Sou da Paz research institute, these episodes in Brazil are generally carried out by men with a “radicalized discourse” in internet forums and “many times with hate speech against women.”
There have also been cases in which the aggressors were victims of harassment.
For the expert, the greater availability of firearms also contributes to these attacks leaving more victims and being more lethal.
Access to firearms has been facilitated by decrees of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, in power since January 2019.
According to the NGO Brazilian Public Security Forum, there are some 4.4 million weapons in private hands in this country of 215 million people.
“Gun policy needs to be reviewed,” Senator Wellington Dias, a Lula ally, tweeted in reacting to the attack.
With sadness I learned of the attack on schools in Aracruz, Espírito Santo. My solidarity with the families of the victims of this absurd tragedy. And my support for the governor @Casagrande_ES in the investigation of the case and support for the communities of the two affected schools.
— Lula (@LulaOficial) November 25, 2022
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