At least three people died and 11 were injured on Friday in Brazil during the attack with firearms on two schools in the state of Espirito Santo (southeast), authorities said.
Two assailants entered a school in the municipality of Aracruz, and one of them fired at the teachers who were gathered, killing two women and wounding nine others, Mayor Luis Carlos Coutinho told CBN radio.
They then headed to another school, where a teenage girl was shot dead, while two people were injured, according to the same source.
President-elect Lula called the assassination an “absurd tragedy” on Twitter.
“I express my solidarity with the families of the victims and support the governor for an investigation,” said the left-wing president who will take office on January 1.
Brazil’s Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin said he was “appalled” by the attacks. “I express my solidarity with the school communities, family and friends of the victims,” he also wrote on Twitter.
Background violence in Brazil
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has campaigned against the dramatic explosion in licenses to keep and carry firearms under the current far-right president Jair Bolsonaro since January 2019.
“The last four years are when we have seen the most attacks on schools, at least since the early 2000s,” said Bruno Langeani, project manager at the Sou da Paz Institute.
“We are convinced that the better access to weapons in recent years under the Bolsonaro government has facilitated this type of attack,” he added.
Source: BFM TV
