A terrifying school shooting in northern Brazil left two women dead and several others injured after authorities say a 13-year-old student opened fire inside a public school Tuesday morning.
The horrifying attack happened at Instituto Sao Jose in Rio Branco, where police say the teenage suspect walked into the school armed with a gun and began firing near a hallway leading to the principal’s office.
Authorities confirmed that two female staff members were killed during the attack. Another employee and an 11-year-old girl were also shot and rushed to a hospital for treatment. Officials said the young student suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.
Police said the 13-year-old suspect was detained shortly after the shooting and allegedly admitted to carrying out the attack.
Investigators say the weapon used belonged to the teen’s legal guardian. Local reports claim the gun belonged to the suspect’s stepfather, who was also detained as authorities continue investigating how the child gained access to the firearm.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos and panic as students desperately tried to escape the school during the gunfire.
Eduardo Rodrigues Cavalcante, a 19-year-old receptionist at a nearby hotel, said terrified students attempted to climb over a massive wall separating the school from the hotel property.
“The wall is six meters high, and only one person managed to jump over and take refuge here in the hotel,” he told reporters. “The other people were left on the school roof trying to escape.”
He added that he heard “gunshots and a lot of screaming” during the terrifying ordeal.
Local media footage showed emotional scenes outside the school as emergency crews rushed victims away while grieving parents, students, and teachers cried and embraced one another.
Mailza Assis released a statement expressing support for the victims’ families and the devastated school community following the tragedy.
Officials announced that classes across Acre state would be suspended for three days while psychological support teams help traumatized students and staff cope with the attack.
The shooting is the latest in a growing wave of violence targeting schools across Brazil in recent years.
In 2025, two teenagers were killed and three others wounded in a school shooting in Ceará. In 2023, another shooting in Sao Paulo left a student dead and multiple others injured. That same year, a knife attack outside a school in Minas Gerais killed one teenager and wounded three more.
Authorities continue investigating what may have led to Tuesday’s deadly shooting.
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