Shooting at school in Brazil

[Opti]

Surprised to see no one has posted this yet.

A gunman entered an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and opened fire with two handguns, killing 11 students and wounding 13 others before turning his guns on himself, the police and city officials said.

Parents and relatives of schoolchildren awaited outside Tasso da Silveira school on Thursday where a gunman opened fire, killing at least 12 people.

A wounded boy was taken to a hospital after a mass shooting at a school in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

The gunman, a 23-year-old former student of the school, stopped to reload several times before he was cornered on a staircase by police. He then exchanged fire with a police officer and was wounded. Shortly after that, he shot himself in the head, according to Sergeant Marcio Alexandre Alves, the first police officer to arrive at the scene.

“He was determined to commit suicide after the tragedy,” Col. Djalma Beltrami told Globo television. The police said the gunman, identified as Wellington Menezes de Oliveira, left a letter behind at the school, but the police did not describe its contents, according to reports.

Ten girls and one boy between the ages of 12 and 14 died from bullet wounds mostly to the head and chest, the state health and civil defense department said, and four more remained in serious condition.

[Bluerobin]

Guess gun control didn't work in Brazil!!!

[Sammy]

The newest quake in Japan is overshadowing the coverage of the Brazil shooting. What is in the mind of a shooter who picks on kids?? Heartbreaking situation.

[Opti]

Sam, I don't know. I've read a few other articles but the logic if any escapes me. He was laid off in August 2010 due to lack of productivity and was dying of Aids.

[NancysSummerSip]

MUD, I speak Spanish, and I understand some Portuguese, so I can pick up a little of that. You can hear the tension in that dispatch, even in a different language. Thanks for posting it.