Brazil police rescue 13 children held hostage at Curitiba kindergarten; attacker killed

Police in Brazil have rescued 13 young children who were held hostage at a kindergarten in Curitiba, in the southern state of Parana, after a stand-off of up to three hours on Friday 9 October. The man who held them was killed when officers moved in, and Curitiba's mayor said all 13 children were alive and safe, Al Jazeera reported, citing the AFP and AP news agencies.

What happened at the Curitiba kindergarten

According to Parana police spokesperson Leticia Martins, the man jumped the school gate in the Sao Braz neighbourhood, broke into a classroom and held the children there. He spread a flammable liquid around the room and held a lighter, threatening to set the building on fire. He also had a knife and what first looked like a gun; it later turned out to be fake.

Negotiators spent hours trying to talk him out. Alexandre Lopes Dias, commander of the Parana military police special forces unit, said the man kept all the children around him throughout, with one on his lap, and began hitting them as they grew upset. At least one child was hurt, he said, without giving details.

Police then carried out what they called a "tactical intervention". Local media reported hearing flash-bang grenades before officers carried the children out. "Our negotiating teams were in place but saw no alternative but to neutralise him," Martins said. Officials did not say how the man was killed. Lopes Dias said the police acted "to avoid a greater problem".

The children and the suspect

"The 13 children are alive and safe!" Curitiba mayor Eduardo Pimentel wrote on Instagram. City hall said the children and school staff would be given psychological support. No information has been released on whether any child needed hospital treatment.

Police have not released the man's name or age, and have not given a motive. Lopes Dias said the man had schizophrenia.

A pattern of attacks on schools in Brazil

Curitiba, a city of about 1.8 million people some 400 km south of Sao Paulo, is the latest Brazilian city to see violence at a school. In April 2023 a man killed four children with an axe at a day care centre in Blumenau, also in southern Brazil, Al Jazeera recalled.

Al Jazeera also carries a video report on the rescue. More world news is on our world desk.