Brazil has had 23 violent attacks on schools since 2002, says unprecedented study by Unicamp

The number of cases of violence in schools is growing in Brazil – similar to what happens in the United States – which can be confirmed by the survey carried out by researchers from Unicamp: between 2002 and 2023, 24 students died in attacks of extreme violence inside schools. Four teachers and two education professionals also lost their lives in this situation.

That's what thetook place this Monday (27) with state school teacher Thomazia Montoro, in Vila Sônia, west of São Paulo. Elisabete Tenreiro, 71 years old, had a cardiac arrest and died at the University Hospital, USP.

Mapping violent actions in Brazilian schools

According to program information Studio i, on Globonews, the mapping carried out by Unicamp scholars is still in progress, but some numbers were released first-hand by Telma Vinha, from the Faculty of Education and Coordinator of the “Ethics, Diversity and Democracy in Public Schools” Group, for the program.

According to Telma, attacks can be avoided if students are monitored not only at school, but also in their daily lives. “Many clearly post on the internet that they are going to attack the school. We know it will happen again, we just don't know when. When you hit a school, you hit a community. School is part of people’s identity”, stated the researcher in an interview.

Researchers see increase in cases since 2022

Also according to Telma Vinha, researchers have noticed an increase in the number of violent attacks in schools since last year. There were seven in the 2nd half of 2022 alone. This year alone there were two: one in the capital and another in Monte Mor, in the interior of São Paulo.

"This is very serious. The growth is exponential”, says professor Telma Vinha.

According to the Unicamp study, the motivations for the crimes that have already victimized 24 people in the last 20 years are:

• Revenge, raiva
• Extremist culture users

One of the most emblematic cases occurred at the end of last year, in Espírito Santo, when a student invaded two schools, shot his classmates and killed a 12-year-old girl and two teachers:

Shooting attack at two schools in Aracruz, ES, kills 3 and injures 11; killer is a former student and was captured

An armed teenager attacked two schools in the city of Aracruz, Espírito Santo, this Friday morning (25). According to local police, three people died – two teachers and a 12-year-old girl – and 11 others were injured. The shooter is a teenager, a former student at one of the schools. He was detained hours after the crime.

In a press conference, secretaries of the São Paulo government speak about monitoring the school community affected by this Monday's attack (27):

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