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A former neo-Nazi student has killed at least three people in two schools in Brazil


A 16-year-old boy attacked two schools in the Brazilian city of Aracruz on Friday, shooting indiscriminately, killing at least three people and wounding 11 others. At the time of the attack, he was wearing a swastika on his clothes, so the authorities were investigating whether he belonged to an extremist organization.

The two dead were teachers and an elementary school student, while four other people, including a girl, were transferred to hospital in serious condition, according to official information.

The attacker, a former student in an educational center, was arrested hours after the attack and confessed to the crime, which he said he had planned for two years, but he did not explain the reason.

The authorities did not reveal the identity of the perpetrator, who confessed to the shooting because he was a minor.

He confessed to the crime, but not to the motive

The young man entered the Primo Betty school in the morning, during school hours, and closed the back door of the educational centre, where he attended until last June.

He went to the teachers’ room, which is 20 meters away from the door, and opened fire whenever he wanted on eleven teachers, who were huddled in a recess between classes.

He then left the school and went to the Praia do Coqueral Education Center, a private school located on the same street, shot several children and ran away.

The police were able to locate and arrest him hours later, in a family home located in the eastern state of Espirito Santo, although the authorities did not provide any other details to protect the identity of the minor.

After his arrest, he confessed to the crime, calmly recounting the events and saying he had been planning the attack for two years, but without detailing his motives.

Espiritu Santo Governor Renato Casagrande told a news conference that the young man had a “mental health problem” and was receiving psychiatric care.

At the time of the attack, he was wearing a swastika on his clothes, so the authorities were investigating whether he belonged to an extremist organization.

The attacker is the son of a police officer and in the attack used two of his father’s weapons, a semi-automatic pistol and a revolver, which are the property of the Territorial Military Police.

Not yet convicted by Bolsonaro

In his account, the attacker said that he planned the crime for two years but did not explain the reasons and fired “without a specific target”, according to the regional public security minister, Marcio Celante.

The crime caused an uproar in Brazil and was condemned by the elected president. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvawho will take power on January 1.

Lula said that he received the events with “sadness” and expressed his “solidarity with the relatives of the victims of this absurd tragedy,” which current President Jair Bolsonaro has not commented on so far.

Governor Casagrande criticized the “culture of violence” that exists in Brazil, the country with the highest number of murders in the world, but that school shootings are not common.

“It shows how a culture of violence exists in some people and, unfortunately, in some young people,” Casagrande said.

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