He Forgot The Hands That Held Him — Until He Fell Again

 

Four children were hacked to death when a 25-year-old man attacked a pre-school in Blumenau, a city in the southern Brazilian state of Santa.

 

The hatchet attack also left several others injured. The assailant jumped over a wall to gain entrance to the privately-run Cantinho Bom Pastor kindergarten, which had around 40 children inside at the time.

 

CNN reports that the victims were between five and seven years old. The attacker targeted the victims at random, and a teacher recounted that the attack was "a scene that you'd never imagine you'd see in your life."

While the assailant carried other weapons, the teacher did not specify what these were.

Police revealed that the attacker had surrendered and was in custody. Military police issued a statement that the assailant had handed himself in at one of their stations in the town.

 

Parents rushed to the kindergarten as news of the incident spread. The city officials have suspended classes in Blumenau until at least tomorrow.

 

Governor Carlos Moisés of Santa Catarina State declared three days of mourning. The tragedy is not the first of its kind in the state, as a similar attack happened in 2021 in the municipality of Saudades, where a man killed two staff members and three toddlers in a creche.

 

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his condolences, tweeting that "there is no greater pain than that of a family that loses its children or grandchildren, even more so when it's through an act of violence against innocent children who can't defend themselves."

 

Blumenau, with around 360,000 inhabitants, is a popular destination for visitors exploring the German heritage of the region.