Updated on: May 6, 2026 / 6:35 AM EDT / CBS/AP
A shooting at a public school in Rio Branco, the capital of Acre state in northern Brazil, left two women dead and two others wounded on Tuesday, officials said. Authorities said a 13-year-old student admitted to carrying out the attack at Instituto São José.
State officials said the two people killed were female staff members who died at the scene. Another staff member and an 11-year-old student were taken to hospital with injuries; the child was shot in the leg. Officials did not release the victims’ identities.
Police said the suspect was detained at the school. Authorities reported the weapon used belonged to a legal guardian; local outlets identified the owner as the teenager’s stepfather, who was also detained. Lieutenant Colonel Felipe Russo of the Acre military police said the suspect fired several shots in a hallway leading to the principal’s office and surrendered after the attack.
A nearby hotel receptionist, 19-year-old Eduardo Rodrigues Cavalcante, described chaotic scenes as students fled. He said some tried to escape by jumping a six-meter wall separating the school from the hotel, and that only one person made it over to take refuge at the hotel, while others were left on the school roof. He recounted hearing gunshots and screams.
Local media released images showing emergency responders carrying an injured woman on a stretcher and distraught relatives and community members gathered outside the school. Acre Governor Mailza Assis expressed solidarity with the victims’ families, the school community and education professionals affected by the incident.
State authorities suspended classes at all state schools for three days and mobilized psychological support teams to assist students, teachers and staff.
Brazil has seen a rise in attacks on educational institutions in recent years. Recent incidents cited by officials include a September 2025 shooting in Ceará that killed two teenagers and wounded three; an October 2023 school shooting in São Paulo that left a 17-year-old dead and three others wounded; a 2023 knife attack near a school in Minas Gerais; an April 2023 daycare axe attack in Santa Catarina that killed four children ages 3 to 7; and a 2022 attack by a former student that killed four and wounded 12 in two schools, in which police said the suspect wore a swastika and had planned the attacks.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.