Man armed with hatchet kills four children at nursery in Brazil

A man armed with a hatchet has killed four children and injured at least three others at a nursery in southern Brazil.

Santa Catarina state’s governor Jorginho Mello confirmed the killings in the city of Blumenau on his Twitter account, and wrote that the killer has been arrested.

The state’s firefighters unit confirmed the man attacked with a hatchet and that three children were taken to hospital.

Images broadcast on television showed weeping parents outside the private daycare centre, named Cantinho do Bom Pastor.

Local media reported the attacker scaled a wall to enter the nursery wielding a hatchet.

School attacks in Brazil had been uncommon but have begun happening with greater frequency in recent years. Last week, a student in Sao Paulo stabbed a teacher, killing her, and also wounded several others in the city.

“May God comfort the hearts of all families in this moment of deep pain,” Mr Mello wrote on Twitter.

Blumenau, a city of 366,000 people, is famous for its annual Oktoberfest festival.

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