A rare school shooting occurred in Brazil just months after loosened gun laws went into effect

Brazil shooting.
(Image credit: NELSON ALMEIDA / Getty Images)

Tragedy struck in Suzano, Brazil, a town just outside of São Paolo, on Wednesday when two gunmen opened fire on a school, killing six children and two school employees. Students at the school range from 11 to 18 years old.

The two gunmen, aged 25 and 17, took their own lives when police arrived on the scene. They were carrying a .38 revolver, a crossbow, a bow, arrows, and explosive devices, The Guardian reported. The homicide rate in Brazil is high, but school shootings are very rare, per The Guardian.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.