A 13-year-old student opened fire at a school in Rio Branco, the capital of Acre state in Brazil's northwestern Amazon region, on Tuesday, killing two female staff members and wounding two others, including a young student. The attack at Instituto São José, a junior high school, marks the latest in a growing series of violent incidents targeting educational institutions across Brazil.
According to local authorities, the boy entered the school building — gaining easy access because he was a enrolled student — and fired multiple shots in a hallway leading to the principal's office. The two women killed were aged 36 and 52, according to local outlet A Gazeta do Acre. Among the wounded were an 11-year-old girl shot in the leg and a school employee struck in the foot. The weapon used was a .380-calibre pistol belonging to the boy's stepfather, who was subsequently arrested alongside the teenager. Police noted that when the suspect surrendered, he was still carrying two loaded magazines. Investigators are also looking into whether other students may have assisted the attacker. The motive remains under investigation.
The chaos inside the school prompted desperate escape attempts. A receptionist at an adjacent hotel described watching students try to scale the six-metre wall separating the two buildings. Only one person managed to climb over; others sought refuge on the school rooftop. Adding to the confusion, some students and staff initially mistook the gunshots for sounds from ongoing construction work on the premises.
In response to the attack, the state government of Acre suspended classes at all public schools for three days and deployed psychological support teams. Governor Mailza Assis expressed condolences to the victims' families and the wider school community.
The shooting reflects a troubling upward trend in school violence across Brazil. In September 2025, two teenagers were killed and three others wounded at a school in the northeastern state of Ceará. In 2023, attacks struck schools in São Paulo and Minas Gerais, and a man killed four young children with an axe at a daycare centre in Santa Catarina. Campaigners and grieving families have increasingly called on authorities to address the root causes of such violence, including the accessibility of firearms.