Two former students opened fire at a Brazilian school on Wednesday and killed at least five teenagers as well as two school officials before committing suicide in an attack that police said was inspired by the 1999 Columbine massacre in the United States.
Among the victims, all of whom died of gunshot wounds, were two members of staff and at least five teenagers, mostly 15 and 16 years old, according to local police.
Nine more people were injured in the shooting and Sao Paulo State Governor Joao Doria called it “the saddest thing” he’s ever seen.
The two assailants stormed into the school in the early morning, armed with a .38 caliber revolver, along with knives. After shooting at students in the yard, they headed to the language center where they killed themselves in the corridor.
Police identified the assailants as Guilherme Taucci Monteiro, 17, and Luiz Henrique de Castro, 25.
School shootings are rare in Brazil where gun laws were extremely strict until last year when far-right President Jair Bolsonaro relaxed gun control.
Wednesday’s shooting ignited debate over whether Bolsonaro’s measures were to blame for the attack.