Attacker of Brazilian School Found Dead

The author of the shooting attack on a public school in southern Brazil, which left two students dead on Monday, was found lifeless in his prison cell, apparently after committing suicide, according to the Parana State's Security Secretariat.

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The body of the confessed murderer, a 21-year-old former student of the same school, was discovered on Tuesday night by prison guards in the cell of the Custody House in the city of Londrina, where he had been detained since Monday.

According to the Forensic Medical Institute, the young man, who was being treated for schizophrenia, apparently hanged himself inside the prison. Parana authorities reported that an investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of the prisoner's death.

The attacker entered the Helena Kolody School in the city of Cambe, claiming he needed some documents, but once inside, he fired at least 17 shots at students who were in the schoolyard.

The tweet reads, "Do you know why Bolsonaro has a direct connection to this wave of violence in Brazilian schools? Because he inspires people." The sign on the wall shows a political advertisement with the image of former President Jair Bolsonaro accompanied by a phrase that reads "My specialty is killing."

Karoline Verri Alves, 17, died instantly from a gunshot to the head, while her boyfriend, Luan Augusto da Silva, 16, was seriously injured with a gunshot to the head as well, and died early Tuesday morning at the hospital where he was admitted.

Upon the arrest of the attacker, a revolver and a notebook containing notes on school attacks in Brazil were confiscated from him. The young man claimed he did not know the victims, randomly chose them, and wanted to seek revenge for the bullying he experienced when he studied at the same school.

Monday's incident adds to other attacks that occurred between March and April in educational institutions, the most serious of which took place at a nursery in the state of Santa Catarina, where a man killed four children with an axe.

Justice Minister Flavio Dino largely attributed what happened to the "messages of hate" circulating on social media and to a "gun culture" promoted by former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023).