Suspect killed after hostage taking and beating of 13 kindergarten students in Brazil | Crime News

A man spills flammable liquid in a room with 13 children while holding a lighter as police attempt to negotiate.

Brazilian police rescued 13 children taken hostage at a kindergarten in the southern city of Curitiba after killing the suspect, who threatened to set fire to the building, authorities said.

At least one of the children was injured in Friday’s incident, Parana state military police special forces unit commander Alexandre Lopes Dias told reporters, without specifying who or what injured the child.

Parana police spokeswoman Leticia Martins told reporters outside the preschool that the suspect walked through the door Friday, broke into a classroom and took 13 children hostage.

He then spread an flammable substance in the room and held a lighter in his hand. He was carrying a knife and what was initially thought to be a gun, but later turned out to be a fake.

“Our negotiation teams were in place but saw no other alternative than to neutralize him,” said Martins, who did not say whether the suspect expressed a specific reason for his actions.

The incident occurred in the Sao Braz neighborhood of Curitiba, a city of 1.8 million people located 400 kilometers south of Sao Paulo.

Lopes Dias told reporters that the suspect had been identified as a man suffering from schizophrenia, but he did not reveal his identity or how he was killed.

“During the entire negotiation, he remained with all the children around him and one on his lap,” explained the police official.

Battered children

The discussions lasted up to three hours. The children became agitated and the attacker began hitting them, Lopes Dias told reporters.

“Once we realized that the children were becoming increasingly upset and that the perpetrator had started to physically attack them, we opted for a tactical intervention to prevent a bigger problem,” he explained.

Local media showed images of tearful parents outside the school waiting for information as negotiations between the suspect and police continued. Minutes after what local media described as flash bangs, police appeared, carrying some of the children outside.

“We entered the classroom using a very tactical approach and with little risk to the children,” added Lopes Dias.

Curitiba Mayor Eduardo Pimentel wrote on Instagram: “All 13 children are alive and safe! After scary and tense moments, this is the news we have all been waiting for.”

Brazil has seen multiple attacks on schools in recent years. In April 2023, a man killed four children with an ax at a daycare in Blumenau, also in southern Brazil.

Curitiba City Hall said in a statement that children and school staff would benefit from psychological support.