Four children killed with an ax in a nursery in southern Brazil were buried Thursday in a ceremony full of emotion, the day after a tragedy that shocked the whole country.
At a cemetery in Blumenau, a town in Santa Catarina state where the attack took place on Wednesday morning, the body of one of the victims — aged four to seven — was slowly carried to the funeral home in a small white coffin, noted an AFP photographer.
When the coffin was placed in the burial niche, many family members burst into tears, while others clapped, as often happens in Brazil. None of them wished to speak to the press.
The four children injured in the attack were discharged from Santo Antonio Hospital in Blumenau on Thursday, where they all underwent surgery.
“The four children have returned to their families. One of them has a jaw injury and his treatment will continue outside the hospital,” the medical facility said in a statement.
According to authorities, the assailant jumped the wall of the Bom Pastor private nursery and attacked several children with axes in the yard.
The 25-year-old man, who police said acted alone, went to a police station shortly after and was taken into custody.
Many residents of Blumenau gathered on Wednesday in front of the nursery, where wreaths of flowers and teddy bears were placed. A prayer vigil with candles was held during the night.
“I have no words to express what I feel,” engineer Fernanda Bubniak Schramm, 41, mother of a little girl who survived the tragedy, told AFP.
“When I found out about the situation, I called the teacher, who told me that my daughter was fine. She explained to me that she had locked several children in the toilet to protect them She’s a hero,” she said of nursery worker Simone Aparecida.
The Brazilian government decided on Wednesday to release 150 million reais (about 27 million euros) to strengthen security in schools, in the face of the multiplication of attacks of this type in recent years.
04/06/2023 21:49:29 – Blumenau (Brésil) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP