A man spreads flammable liquid in a room with 13 children while holding a lighter as police try to negotiate. Published October 10, 2026 October 10, 2026 Brazilian police rescued 13 children who had been taken hostage at a daycare center in the southern city of Curitiba after killing the suspect, who threatened to set the building on fire, according to authorities. At least one of the children was injured in Friday’s incident, the commander of the military police’s special forces unit said. in Paraná state, Alexandre Lopes Dias, told reporters without giving further details about who or what injured the boy. Paraná police spokeswoman Leticia Martins told reporters outside the kindergarten that the suspect jumped through the door on Friday, broke into a classroom and took 13 children hostage. He then spread a flammable substance in the room and held a lighter in his hand. He was carrying a knife and also what was initially believed to be a firearm, but was later discovered to be fake. “Our negotiation teams were on the scene but saw no alternative but to neutralize him,” said Martins, who did not specify whether the suspect had expressed a specific reason for his actions.[Al Jazeera]The incident took place in the Sao Braz neighborhood of Curitiba, a city of 1.8 million people located 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Sao Paulo. Lopes Dias told reporters that the suspect was identified as a man suffering from schizophrenia, but did not reveal the man’s identity or how he was killed. “Throughout the negotiation, he remained with all the children around him and one on his lap,” the police officer said. It lasted up to three hours. The children became agitated and the attacker began hitting them, Lopes Dias told reporters. “Once we realized that the children were increasingly upset and that the attacker began to physically attack them, we opted for a tactical intervention to prevent a bigger problem,” he explained. Local media showed images of parents crying outside the school waiting for information as negotiations between the suspect and police continued. Minutes after what local media described as sudden explosions, officers emerged carrying some of the children outside. “We entered the classroom using a very tactical approach with little risk to the children,” Lopes Dias added. Curitiba Mayor Eduardo Pimentel wrote on Instagram: “All 13 children are alive and safe! After distressing and tense moments, this is the news we have all been waiting for.” In April 2023, a man killed four children with an ax at a daycare in Blumenau, also in southern Brazil. Curitiba city council said in a statement that children and school staff would receive psychological support.
