A man armed with a hatchet climbed over a wall and into a daycare center in Brazil on Wednesday where he murdered four children and injured at least five others, according to officials.
The suspect later turned himself into police. He did not appear to have any link to the daycare in Blumenau, a southern Brazilian city, the Associated Press reported.
The victims at the Cantinho do Bom Pastor daycare center were all between the ages of five and seven.
The detective in charge of the investigation, Ronnie Esteves, told reporters that police did not yet have a motive for the mass killing at the center, which offers nursery, preschool and daycare options.
The shocking attack occurred at the playground, local media reported.
Blumenau’s mayor, Mário Hildebrandt, suspended classes and declared a month-long period of mourning. The state government also downplayed claims of other potential attacks on social media.
“There is no greater pain than that of a family who loses its children or grandchildren, even more so in an act of violence against innocent and defenseless kids,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Twitter. “My thoughts and prayers are the families of victims and the community of Blumenau in the face of the monstrosity of what occurred.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)