A man stabbed at least four children to death on Wednesday at a kindergarten in south Brazil, local officials said.
The 25-year-old attacker, who turned himself in to authorities after the attack, also left several children injured in the tragic incident in the town of Blumenau, the southern state of Santa Catarina.
The fatal victims included three boys and a girl aged four to seven.
According to police, the attacker entered the kindergarten by jumping over a wall, and after attacking the children, drove by motorcycle to the local police station to turn himself in.
“I have come to report that I have committed a crime,” the man said, according to a police account cited by a Santa Catarina news channel.
The case has shocked Brazil, where President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva described it as a “monstrosity,” and expressed solidarity with the families of the victims.
“There is no greater pain than when a family loses a child or grandchild, even more so in an act against innocent and defenseless children,” he said.
Santa Catarina Governor Jorginho Mello declared three days of mourning statewide, and called on the society to reflect on what took place and how to “contribute to increasing safety.”
The attack came days after a teenager stabbed a teacher to death with a knife and injured four others in late March at a public school in Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil.
