Rio de Janeiro school shooting
Encyclopedia
On the morning of April 7, 2011, 12 children aged between 10 and 13 were killed and 20 others seriously wounded after an armed man entered Tasso da Silveira Municipal School (Escola Municipal Tasso da Silveira), an elementary school
in Realengo
on the western fringe of Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
. It is the first time an incident of this kind — a non-gang school shooting with a sizable number of casualties — has been reported in the country.
The children ran out of the school as soon as Oliveira started shooting. Two policemen who were patrolling the area were alerted to the shooting by two boys who were wounded in the face. As the policemen arrived at the school, the gunman had already left the classroom and was preparing to proceed to the third floor where students and teachers had barricaded themselves inside the remaining classrooms. Rio de Janeiro military policeman
Third Sergeant Márcio Alexandre Alves shot the gunman in the leg and in the stomach; he fell down a staircase and then committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
The victims were between 10 and 13 years old. Eleven of the twelve students were buried the day after the shooting in the Brazilian tradition of holding services within a day of a person's death. The twelfth child's body was cremated two days after the shooting.
which he described as the most correct religion. A neighbor said Oliveira had turned to Islam two years beforehand. In his letters, Oliveira states that he attended the mosque
in downtown Rio and that he would study the Qur'an
for four hours daily. He also describes his association with "Abdul", who came from overseas and who boasted about having taken part in the September 11 attacks. He also indicated his desire to move to a Muslim
majority country, either Egypt or Malaysia. However, both Jehovah's Witnesses and Islam leaders in Rio denied Oliveira's claims.
Oliveira attended Tasso da Silveira Municipal School from 1999 to 2002. According to former schoolmates he was a strange, very reserved person constantly harassed by others, was called "Sherman" (an allusion to a character from American Pie
), as well as "suingue" (swing), because he had a limp leg, and was thrown into a garbage bin. In a video he had recorded two days prior to the shooting Oliveira stated: "The struggle for which many brothers died in the past, and for which I will die, is not solely because of what is known as bullying. Our fight is against cruel people, cowards, who take advantage of the kindness, the weakness of people unable to defend themselves."
(A luta pela qual muitos irmãos no passado morreram, e eu morrerei, não é exclusivamente pelo que é conhecido como bullying.
A nossa luta é contra pessoas cruéis, covardes, que se aproveitam da bondade, da fraqueza de pessoas incapazes de se defenderem.)
As none of his relatives reclaimed Oliveira's body, it was buried in a potter's field
at the Caju Cemetery
two weeks after his death.
s and a bandolier
with 18 unused rounds.
The .32 revolver belonged to a man who died in 1994 and according to his son, it was stolen from him by the time of his death. The police apprehended the two men who illegally sold the weapon to the perpetrator, who, according to them, claimed he needed the firearm for his own protection.
Despite the .38 revolver had its serial number almost totally scratched-off, the Police managed to locate the weapon's original owner, a 57 year-old man who works on a slaughterhouse
and is a former co-worker of the perpetrator. According to the seller he sold not only the weapon to Wellington but also the speedloaders and a huge quantity of ammo, possibly the same rounds used in the shooting.
Dilma Rousseff
declared three days of national mourning and shed tears during her speech to the public regarding the incident.
The State Governor, Sérgio Cabral, and the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes
, addressed the press at the site of the shooting a few hours later. Cabral described the sergeant, teachers and children from the elementary school, who were able to call policemen who were nearby, as "heroes". "Without them, the tragedy would have been much worse", he said.
The incident has sparked nation-wide discussions about how safe Brazilian schools are, and the government also promised to advance the disarmament program which will last from May 6, 2011 until the end of the year.
On April 9, 2011, the house where Wellington de Oliveira lived was subject of pixação
with writings saying "Murderer" and "Coward". Two days later, a group of locals and former students of the school repainted the house stating that people "should not continue the harm that he has caused".
Hundreds of residents and students from other schools gathered outside the school to remember the ones who died. Posters and flowers were left in front the school.
On April 10, a group of protesters hung blood-stained Brazilian flags on Copacabana beach in honor of the children who died in the shooting.
At the end of a concert in São Paulo
, Bono
, from Irish band U2
, asked almost 80 thousand people to remember the children who died in Realengo while their names scrolled up on a screen.
The three policemen who responded to the shooting were condecorated for act of bravery by the Brazilian vice president Michel Temer
on April 12, 2011. Third Sergeant Márcio Alexandre Alves was promoted to Second Sergeant; Corporal
s Denilson Francisco de Paula and Ednei Feliciano da Silva were promoted to Third Sergeant.
The archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Orani João Tempesta
, received a letter from Pope Benedict XVI
, where he states that he prayed for the quick recovery of the wounded and asked all people of the city to "help build a society with no violence and respect to each other, especially for the weak and oppressed".
Students from Columbine, Colorado
, same site of the 1999 massacre
, made a poster, stating their feelings about the tragedy. The poster will be sent to the Brazilian elementary school.
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
in Realengo
Realengo
Realengo is a neighborhood in northern Rio de Janeiro. The lower and middle class neighborhood is between the Mendanha and Pedra Branca mountains...
on the western fringe of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It is the first time an incident of this kind — a non-gang school shooting with a sizable number of casualties — has been reported in the country.
Incident and casualties
A lone gunman, Wellington Oliveira, entered the school at around 08:30 local time, identifying himself as a former student and asking to see his school history. By presenting himself as such his entrance was allowed, but instead of heading to the school's office he proceeded to the second floor, entering an eighth grade classroom. Some of the victim's accounts say that he was initially very polite, saluting the children and putting his bag on a table, but soon after shot a number of pupils. The perpetrator was armed with a .38-caliber and a .32-caliber revolver with a number of speedloaders. A boy who survived the attack said that Oliveira selectively shot girls while shooting boys only to immobilize them. Ten of the twelve children killed were girls.The children ran out of the school as soon as Oliveira started shooting. Two policemen who were patrolling the area were alerted to the shooting by two boys who were wounded in the face. As the policemen arrived at the school, the gunman had already left the classroom and was preparing to proceed to the third floor where students and teachers had barricaded themselves inside the remaining classrooms. Rio de Janeiro military policeman
Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State
The Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State like other military polices in Brazil is a reserve and ancillary force of the Brazilian Army, and part of the System of Public Security and Brazilian Social Protection...
Third Sergeant Márcio Alexandre Alves shot the gunman in the leg and in the stomach; he fell down a staircase and then committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
The victims were between 10 and 13 years old. Eleven of the twelve students were buried the day after the shooting in the Brazilian tradition of holding services within a day of a person's death. The twelfth child's body was cremated two days after the shooting.
Perpetrator
The perpetrator was identified as Wellington Menezes de Oliveira (July 13, 1987 - April 7, 2011) a 23-year-old former pupil of the school. Local police confirmed they had a letter stating the perpetrator's intention to commit suicide. The police stressed that they found no concrete evidence of a religious or political motive for the attack. Texts found at Oliveira's home suggest that he was obsessed with terrorist acts and IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
which he described as the most correct religion. A neighbor said Oliveira had turned to Islam two years beforehand. In his letters, Oliveira states that he attended the mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in downtown Rio and that he would study the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
for four hours daily. He also describes his association with "Abdul", who came from overseas and who boasted about having taken part in the September 11 attacks. He also indicated his desire to move to a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
majority country, either Egypt or Malaysia. However, both Jehovah's Witnesses and Islam leaders in Rio denied Oliveira's claims.
Oliveira attended Tasso da Silveira Municipal School from 1999 to 2002. According to former schoolmates he was a strange, very reserved person constantly harassed by others, was called "Sherman" (an allusion to a character from American Pie
American Pie (film)
American Pie is a 1999 teen comedy film written by Adam Herz. American Pie was the directorial film debut of brothers Paul and Chris Weitz, and the first film in the American Pie film series...
), as well as "suingue" (swing), because he had a limp leg, and was thrown into a garbage bin. In a video he had recorded two days prior to the shooting Oliveira stated: "The struggle for which many brothers died in the past, and for which I will die, is not solely because of what is known as bullying. Our fight is against cruel people, cowards, who take advantage of the kindness, the weakness of people unable to defend themselves."
(A luta pela qual muitos irmãos no passado morreram, e eu morrerei, não é exclusivamente pelo que é conhecido como bullying.
A nossa luta é contra pessoas cruéis, covardes, que se aproveitam da bondade, da fraqueza de pessoas incapazes de se defenderem.)
As none of his relatives reclaimed Oliveira's body, it was buried in a potter's field
Potter's field
A potter's field was an American term for a place for the burial of unknown or indigent people. The expression derives from the Bible, referring to a field used for the extraction of potter's clay, which was useless for agriculture but could be used as a burial site.-Origin:The term comes from...
at the Caju Cemetery
Caju Cemetery
The Sao Francisco Xavier Cemetery, popularly known as the Caju Cemetery, is a necropolis in Rio de Janeiro. It is considered one of the largest cemeteries in Brazil, It is located in the neighborhood of Caju in northern Rio de Janeiro.- History :...
two weeks after his death.
Victims
The list of victims was released by police in Rio de Janeiro. The families of four victims decided to donate the victims' organs. Six injured children required further treatment, two of them in critical condition.Investigation
The police estimate that over 60 shots were fired by the perpetrator during the shooting. His body was found with two pistols, a .38 caliber and a .32 caliber, some speedloaderSpeedloader
A speedloader is a device used for loading a firearm or firearm magazine that will run out of ammunition very quickly. Generally, speedloaders are used for loading all chambers of a revolver simultaneously, although speedloaders are also used for the loading of fixed tubular magazines of shotguns...
s and a bandolier
Bandolier
A bandolier or a bandoleer is a pocketed belt for holding ammunition. It was usually slung over the chest. In its original form, it was common issue to soldiers from the 16th to 18th centuries. This was very useful for quickly reloading a musket....
with 18 unused rounds.
The .32 revolver belonged to a man who died in 1994 and according to his son, it was stolen from him by the time of his death. The police apprehended the two men who illegally sold the weapon to the perpetrator, who, according to them, claimed he needed the firearm for his own protection.
Despite the .38 revolver had its serial number almost totally scratched-off, the Police managed to locate the weapon's original owner, a 57 year-old man who works on a slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
and is a former co-worker of the perpetrator. According to the seller he sold not only the weapon to Wellington but also the speedloaders and a huge quantity of ammo, possibly the same rounds used in the shooting.
Perpetrator's letter
National response
PresidentPresident of Brazil
The president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...
Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Vana Rousseff is the 36th and current President of Brazil. She is the first woman to hold the office. Prior to that, in 2005, she was also the first woman to become Chief of Staff of Brazil, appointed by then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva....
declared three days of national mourning and shed tears during her speech to the public regarding the incident.
The State Governor, Sérgio Cabral, and the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes
Eduardo Paes
Eduardo da Costa Paes is a Brazilian politician who is currently the mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro, having defeated Fernando Gabeira in the 2008 Elections.-References:...
, addressed the press at the site of the shooting a few hours later. Cabral described the sergeant, teachers and children from the elementary school, who were able to call policemen who were nearby, as "heroes". "Without them, the tragedy would have been much worse", he said.
The incident has sparked nation-wide discussions about how safe Brazilian schools are, and the government also promised to advance the disarmament program which will last from May 6, 2011 until the end of the year.
On April 9, 2011, the house where Wellington de Oliveira lived was subject of pixação
Pixação
Pixação or Pichação is a unique form of graffiti native to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It consists of tagging done in a distinctive, cryptic style, mainly on walls and vacant buildings. Many pixação artists compete to paint in high and inaccessible places, using such techniques as free...
with writings saying "Murderer" and "Coward". Two days later, a group of locals and former students of the school repainted the house stating that people "should not continue the harm that he has caused".
Hundreds of residents and students from other schools gathered outside the school to remember the ones who died. Posters and flowers were left in front the school.
On April 10, a group of protesters hung blood-stained Brazilian flags on Copacabana beach in honor of the children who died in the shooting.
At the end of a concert in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, from Irish band U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, asked almost 80 thousand people to remember the children who died in Realengo while their names scrolled up on a screen.
The three policemen who responded to the shooting were condecorated for act of bravery by the Brazilian vice president Michel Temer
Michel Temer
Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia , better known as Michel Temer, is a Brazilian lawyer and politician, and currently the Vice-President of Brazil after winning on the ticket of Workers' Party candidate Dilma Rousseff...
on April 12, 2011. Third Sergeant Márcio Alexandre Alves was promoted to Second Sergeant; Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
s Denilson Francisco de Paula and Ednei Feliciano da Silva were promoted to Third Sergeant.
International response
The International press stated how the Brazilian public opinion was shocked with the shooting as it was the first time an incident of this kind occurred in the country.The archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Orani João Tempesta
Orani João Tempesta
Orani João Tempesta O. Cist. is the current Metropolitan Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro.He was appointed to that office by Pope Benedict XVI on 27 February 2009, and took possession of the See on 19 April 2009....
, received a letter from Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, where he states that he prayed for the quick recovery of the wounded and asked all people of the city to "help build a society with no violence and respect to each other, especially for the weak and oppressed".
Students from Columbine, Colorado
Columbine, Colorado
Columbine is a census-designated place in Arapahoe and Jefferson Counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located mostly in Jefferson County, it lies immediately west of Littleton....
, same site of the 1999 massacre
Columbine High School massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...
, made a poster, stating their feelings about the tragedy. The poster will be sent to the Brazilian elementary school.
External links
- The Rio de Janeiro School Massacre - slideshow by Life magazine