CURITIBA, Brazil — Brazilian police shot and killed a man on Friday after he held 13 kindergarteners hostage at knifepoint for several hours, threatening to set a classroom on fire, officials said.
The armed man jumped the gate of the São Braz Municipal Early Childhood Education Center in the São Braz neighborhood of Curitiba, a city of 1.8 million about 250 miles south of São Paulo, and broke into a classroom, according to Parana state police spokeswoman Leticia Martins.
Inside, he spread a flammable liquid that smelled like gasoline through the room and held a lighter in one hand, a knife in the other — plus what officers first believed was a firearm but later determined was fake.
Three-Hour Standoff
Negotiations lasted up to three hours. The commander of the Parana state military police special forces unit, Alexandre Lopes Dias, told reporters the suspect kept all the children close around him, one on his lap. When the children grew agitated and the man began striking them, police moved in.
“Our negotiating teams were in place but saw no alternative but to neutralise him,” Martins said.
“We entered the classroom using a very tactical approach, with little risk for the children,” Dias said.
All Children Rescued Alive
All 13 children, aged between 4 and 5, were rescued alive. At least one child was wounded, Dias said, without elaborating on who or what caused the injury. Five children received medical attention; no life-threatening injuries were reported. Curitiba City Hall said the children and school staff would receive psychological support.
Police identified the suspect only as a man who suffered from schizophrenia. They did not release his name, did not say how he was killed, and gave no motive.
Echoes of a 2023 Attack
The incident echoes an April 2023 attack in Blumenau, also in southern Brazil, when a man killed four children with an axe at a day care.
Key Facts
- 13 kindergarteners, ages 4 to 5, held hostage at knifepoint for up to three hours on Friday, October 9, 2026
- Location: São Braz Municipal Early Childhood Education Center, Curitiba, Brazil
- Suspect spread a flammable liquid smelling of gasoline and held a lighter; carried a knife and a fake firearm
- Police killed the suspect in a tactical entry after he began striking the children
- All 13 children rescued alive; at least one wounded; five received medical attention
- Police say the suspect suffered from schizophrenia; no motive given
- Recalls the April 2023 Blumenau day care attack that killed four children
