On the morning of 7 April 2011, 12 students aged between 13 and 15 years old were killed[4] and 22 others seriously wounded by Wellington Menezes de Oliveira, 23 years old, who entered the Tasso da Silveira Municipal School (Escola Municipal Tasso da Silveira), an elementary school in Realengo on the western fringe of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was armed with two revolvers. The killer was intercepted by the police, but committed suicide before being arrested. It was the first non-gang school shooting with a sizable number of casualties reported in Brazil.[2]
Although police found no concrete evidence of religious or political motives, texts found at Oliveira's home suggest that he was obsessed with terrorist acts and Islam, which he had converted to two years beforehand, after having been a Jehovah's Witness. In his last wishes, he requested to be buried following Islamic traditions, and asked Jesus for eternal life and "God's forgiveness for what I have done." According to his adoptive sister and a close colleague, the shooter was reserved and suffered from bullying.
Background
Police investigations prior to the massacre, via an anonymous report, found that Oliveira had left to buy a 32 caliber revolver with two men, an unemployed watchman and a locksmith, Charleston Souza de Lucena e Izaías de Souza, respectively, and both suspects confessed having being middle-men in the revolver's sale at a nearby kiosk in Sepetiba.[5] Oliveira's claim, according to one of the suspects, was that he would use the weapon to protect himself, as he lived alone. A third man would have participated in the sale, Robson, supplying the weapon directly to Oliveira, with the other two were only the middle-men.[5]
Both arrested men said they regretted the sale. Isaías said: "If I had known it was to do that, I wouldn't have participated, because I also have kids, that even study at the school in front of Wellington's house", while Charleston said: "Now unfortunately I have to pay for this act. I hope the Justice does what it needs to do, that it is fulfilled."[5] Even though the accused have claimed that Robson died in 2011, the police still investigated him and tried to find evidence for his supposed death. The investigators also don't know how Oliveira obtained his other weapon, a 38 revolver, with which he made most shots.[6]
Shooting
Municipal School Tasso da Silveira, in Realengo, on the day of the shooting
A lone gunman, Wellington Oliveira, well-dressed, entered the Tasso da Silveira at around 8:30 BRT (11:30 GMT) in April 7, 2011, identifying himself as lecturer that would talk to the students that morning; as such, he was allowed to enter, he then proceeded to the first floor and entered an eighth-grade classroom, where the second half of a double Portuguese class was happening with the teacher Leila D'Angelo. Oliveira entered without asking for permission, calmly, and then took his weapons, one in each hand, and started to shot several pupils, in the boys arms and legs and in the girls heads, looking to only kill them.[2][7] The perpetrator was armed with a .38-caliber revolver and a .32-caliber revolver[8] with a number of speedloaders, that according to the police, demanded training for its use.[9] According to witnesses, he referred to the girls as 'impure beings' and positioned the weapon in their foreheads in a cruel form before killing them.[10] Ten girls and two boys died, all with ages ranging from 13 to 16. He was able to shoot more than thirty shots, due to the loaders.[11]
Sargeant Márcio Alves, author of the shot that hit Wellington
The children and staff members ran out of the Tasso da Silveira as soon as Oliveira started shooting. Two agents from the Department of Road Transport who were patrolling the area were alerted to the shooting by a boy who had escaped from the place.[12]Rio de Janeiro military policeman Third Sergeant Márcio Alexandre Alves shot the gunman in the leg and in the stomach;[13] he fell down a staircase and then shot himself fatally in the head.[14]
According to Alves, Oliveira pointed his gun at him, but didn't shoot. "The feeling is of sadness for the children. I have a kid that age. Mas also there's a feeling of accomplishment, I stopped him from going to the third floor and making more victims."[15]
Wellington Oliveira left a letter where he wrote that the intention of suicide was premeditated.[16]
11 of the 12 students were buried the day after the shooting, following the Brazilian practice of burying (or cremating) people within a day of their death.[17] The twelfth child's body was cremated two days after the shooting.[18]
Perpetrator
Wellington Menezes de Oliveira (13 July 1987[19]– 7 April 2011), a 23-year-old former pupil of the school. He was the adopted son of Dicéa Menezes de Oliveira, the youngest of five siblings and adopted when he was a baby. His biological mother suffered from a mental illness and had tried to commit suicide.[20] He's described by family and friends as a quiet, shy and introspective boy, that stayed out of trouble and followed rules. His adopted mother, that died in 2010, was a Jehovah's Witness; Wellington also had taken part in the religion, but never adhered to it.[21] He spent a good part of his time online.[22]
In an April 13 interview, his family members confirmed that Wellington was closed-off and introspective, that he only related to people online, had few friends and didn't participate in the family life, spending almost all of his time in front of the computer. Being adopted by a woman in her fifty's and having married siblings, he was treated coldly by his mother, that already anticipated that she would leave him early due to her age. She's described as a safe haven to Oliveira and her death worsened his mental illness, already known by his family and with an attempt of treatment with a psychologist, that was abandoned by the young man. He attended Jehovah's Witnesses meetings with his mom, who was very religious, not having adhered with the religion and didn't have a connection with Islamic groups, like the media initially reported, although he searched for other religions when he disconnected from Jehovah's Witnesses. His family member also said they were surprised with the crime and scared of publicly exposing themselves.[23]
Oliveira, in a letter, refers to the bullying he suffered at school: "A lot of times I was beaten by a group, and everyone who was around mocked me, had fun with the humiliation I suffered with, without caring about my feelings". E, according to the statement of an ex-schoolmate: "Once upon a time in school they put Wellington with his head down, placed his head on the toilet and flushed it. Some people instigated the girls: 'Come on, mess with him'. Or they would would be the one incentivizing: 'Let's play with him, let's screw with him'. The abuse happened in 2001. In that year, on September 11, the biggest terrorist attack of all time became an obsession to Wellington".[24]
Oliveira attended the 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.[25][26] 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" [the English word]. Our fight is against cruel people, cowards, who take advantage of the kindness, the weakness of people unable to defend themselves." (Portuguese: 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.)[27]
After the death of Dicéa, his brothers searched his computer and found that he searched a lot about arming. He has bought two revolvers and a speedloader, and also took shooting classes, having evidence that he planned an action since the previous year, always with the intent of revenge and admiration for other terrorist attacks.[20] During the shooting, he committed suicide after being shot in the belly. His body was buried in a potter's field at the Caju Cemetery on April 22, after fifteen days in the coroner's office, without the presence of any family. In his last wishes, he wished to be buried following Islamic traditions, and asked Jesus for eternal life and "God's forgiveness for what I have done". None of the procedures that he had asked to be done in his suicide letter were done.[28][29]
Police confirmed they had a letter stating the perpetrator's intention to commit suicide.[9][30][31] The police stressed that they found no concrete evidence of a religious or political motive for the attack.[30] Texts found at Oliveira's home suggest that he was obsessed with terrorist acts and Islam which he described as the most correct religion.[24] A neighbor said Oliveira had turned to Islam two years beforehand.[29] 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.[24] He also describes his association with "Abdul", who came from overseas and who boasted about having taken part in the September 11 attacks.[24] He also indicated his desire to move to a Muslim majority country, either Egypt or Malaysia.[24] However, Islamic leaders in Rio denied Oliveira's claims.[24]
Pictures taken by Oliveira show him standing in positions similar to that of Seung-Hui Cho, perpetrator of the Virginia Tech shooting, including him pointing the firearms used in the shooting at himself and the camera. It was later confirmed he felt "inspired" by Cho, going so far as to call him a "brother" and thanking him, along with the perpetrator of a similar school shooting carried out in 2003 in Brazil, for their "bravery" and for "leading the way".[32]
Victims
The list of victims was released by police in Rio de Janeiro.
The victims were:
Ana Carolina Pacheco da Silva, aged 13
Bianca Rocha Tavares, aged 14
Géssica Guedes Pereira, aged 15
Igor Moraes da Silva, aged 13
Karine Chagas de Oliveira, aged 14
Larissa dos Santos Atanásio, aged 13
Laryssa Silva Martins, aged 13
Luiza Paula da Silveira, aged 15
Mariana Rocha de Souza, aged 13
Milena dos Santos Nascimento, aged 15
Rafael Pereira da Silva, aged 14
Samira Pires Ribeiro, aged 14
The families of four victims decided to donate the victims' organs.[33] The city hall payed homage to the victims, naming twelve daycares in the city after them.[34] The first to receive this homage was Samira Pires Ribeiro, whose name was given to a day care (Espaço de Desenvolvimento Infantil) in Guaratiba.[35]
Six injured teenagers, two of them in critical condition, required further treatment.[36]
Investigation
The police estimate that over 60 shots were fired by the perpetrator during the shooting. His body was found with a .38 caliber and a .32 caliber revolver, some speedloaders and a bandolier with 18 unused rounds.
The .32-caliber Taurus Model 73 snubnosed 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 fact that the .38-caliber Rossi Model 971 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 worked in a slaughterhouse and was a former co-worker of the perpetrator. According to the seller he sold Wellington the weapon, the speedloaders, and a huge quantity of ammunition, possibly that used in the shooting.[18]
National response
Governor Sérgio Cabral and Mayor Eduardo Paes speaking about the shooting at school Tasso da Silveira, in Realengo on April 7, 2011.
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.[37]
The incident sparked nationwide discussions about how safe Brazilian schools are, and the government promised to advance a disarmament program from 6 May 2011, until the end of the year.[38]
On 9 April 2011, the house where Wellington de Oliveira had lived had a graffiti inscription "assassino covarde" (cowardly murderer). Two days later, a group of local people and former students of the school repainted the house, saying that people "should not continue the harm that he has caused".[39]
Hundreds of residents and students from other schools gathered outside the school in memory of the dead. Posters and flowers were left in front of the school.[40]
On 10 April, a group of protesters hung blood-stained Brazilian flags on Copacabana beach in memory of the children killed.[41]
At the end of a concert in São Paulo, singer 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.[42]
The three policemen who responded to the shooting were decorated for bravery by Brazilian vice-president Michel Temer on 12 April 2011. Third Sergeant Márcio Alexandre Alves was promoted to Second Sergeant; Corporals Denilson Francisco de Paula and Ednei Feliciano da Silva were promoted to Third Sergeant.[43]
International response
The international press commented that Brazilian public opinion was shocked by the shooting as it was the first of its kind in the country.[44]
The archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Orani João Tempesta, received a letter from Pope Benedict XVI, who said 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 for each other, especially for the weak and oppressed".[45]
Students from Columbine, Colorado, US, the site of a 1999 massacre, made a poster stating their feelings about the tragedy. The poster was sent to the Brazilian elementary school.[46]
Realengo is a neighborhood in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The lower and middle-class neighborhood is between the Mendanha and Pedra Branca mountains. It is located between the mountains of Pedra Branca and Mendanha in the northern of the called West Zone of the city, owned and named the XXXIII Administrative Region which encompasses the entire east around the neighborhood. Realengo usually has the highest temperatures in the city, even though the winter nights are often cold because of the proximity to the mountains. Created on November 20, 1815, every year on this day the city's birthday is celebrated with the Week of Realengo. Pedro I of Brazil and Pedro II of Brazil used to go to the farm of Santa Cruz by the Estrada Real de Santa Cruz, passing by Realengo, where they often stayed.
A series of floods and mudslides took place in January 2011 in several towns of the Mountainous Region, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Casualties occurred in the cities of Nova Friburgo, Teresópolis, Petrópolis, Bom Jardim, Sumidouro and São José do Vale do Rio Preto. The floods caused at least 916 deaths, including 424 in Nova Friburgo and 378 in Teresópolis. While local media claims that the combination of floods, mudslides and landslides in Rio de Janeiro became the worst weather-related natural disaster in Brazilian history, some contend that a similar weather-related tragedy that took place in the same state in 1967 was much deadlier, and that an estimated 1,700 people lost their lives on that occasion.
Events in the year 2011 in Brazil.
Events in the year 2015 in Brazil:
Deutsche Schule Rio de Janeiro is a German international school in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It serves levels Kindergarten/Educação Infantil through klasse 12/turma 12. It is located in the former US Embassy.
Escola Suíço-Brasileira Rio de Janeiro is a Swiss international school in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. A part of the SIS Swiss International School network, it serves levels Educação Infantil until Ensino Médio.
In the morning of October 20, 2017, an unnamed 14-year-old student of the private school Goyases, in Goiânia, Brazil opened fire against his classmates with a .40-caliber Taurus PT100 pistol, leaving two dead, and four injured. He tried to commit suicide but was convinced not to by a school teacher, being arrested minutes after the incident.
Events in the year 2018 in Brazil.
Events in the year 2019 in Brazil.
The Suzano Massacre, also known as the Suzano school massacre, was a school shooting that took place on March 13, 2019, at the Professor Raul Brasil State School in the Brazilian municipality of Suzano, São Paulo State.
Events in the year 2020 in Brazil.
Events in the year 2021 in Brazil.
Daniel Lucio da Silveira is a former Rio de Janeiro Military Police officer and Brazilian politician, previously affiliated with the PSL, UNIÃO, and PTB parties. He was a federal deputy for the state of Rio de Janeiro from 2019 to 2023.
On 4 May 2021, a school massacre occurred at the municipal school of early childhood education (creche) Aquarela, located in the city of Saudades, near the city of Chapecó, in the Santa Catarina state of Brazil. The school serves children from 6 months to 2 years old.
Events in the year 2022 in Brazil.
The Aracruz school shootings were a shooting spree that occurred on November 25, 2022, at two schools in Aracruz, Espírito Santo, Brazil. Four people were killed, and 12 others were injured. The suspect, a 16-year-old former student at one of the schools, was arrested approximately four hours later.
On April 5, 2023, a hatchet attack occurred at a daycare center in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Four children were killed; five others were injured. Luiz Henrique Lima, a 25-year-old male and the suspected attacker, who is believed to have jumped over a wall to gain access to the school, surrendered at a nearby police station.
On February 21, 2023, a mass shooting occurred at a bar in Sinop, Mato Grosso, Brazil. After losing R$20,000 (US$3,710.58) in a pool game, suspects Ezequias Souza Ribeiro and Edgar Ricardo de Oliveira returned with firearms and shot and killed seven people, including one child. The two shooters then fled the scene. Ribeiro was killed in a shootout with police the following day, while Oliveira surrendered to police on February 23.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
