Police kill suspect who held 13 children at knifepoint in a Curitiba school; city known for humane urban planning and as Brazil’s eighth-most populous, with 1.83 million residents (2024).
A man broke into a kindergarten in Curitiba’s Sao Braz district, held 13 children and staff hostage for hours, poured a flammable liquid, and threatened to set it alight. Police have neutralised the attacker; no children were reported injured, and a police spokesman says the suspect, who suffered from schizophrenia, was killed during the operation. The incident is being followed as plans for psychological support for victims and families unfold.