Curitiba Kindergarten Standoff Ends With 13 Children Rescued

Brazilian military police killed a man holding 13 kindergarten children hostage in Curitiba on Friday, ending a standoff of more than three hours with all of the children rescued.

The incident took place in the Sao Braz neighbourhood at a Centro Municipal de Educacao Infantil (CMEI) — a public preschool run by the city. Parana police spokesperson Leticia Martins said the suspect jumped the school gate, broke into a classroom and locked 13 children inside. Curitiba is a city of 1.8 million residents located 400km south of Sao Paulo, according to Al Jazeera.

The man carried a knife and an object that looked like a firearm. Police later determined the gun was fake. Inside the classroom, he spread a flammable substance and held a lighter, adding a fire threat to the knife threat. The Associated Press reported he held the children at knifepoint for more than two hours.

Negotiations with Parana state military police special forces, a unit trained for high risk rescues, lasted up to three hours. Brazilian reporting described the children as locked in the classroom for more than three hours. All 13 survived.

Police said the attacker started physically hitting the children while negotiations were still under way. Officers then used lethal force against the suspect. Commander Alexandre Lopes Dias said at least one child was wounded. Later municipal updates described the 13 as rescued without serious injuries. Curitiba Mayor Eduardo Pimentel stated the 13 children are alive and safe. Curitiba City Hall said the children and school staff would receive psychological support, and local reports said the rescued children were to undergo medical and psychological care, according to G1.

Dias described the suspect as a man who suffered from schizophrenia. He did not reveal the man's identity.

The children had been at the CMEI to celebrate Children's Day, Dia das Criancas, when the school was invaded, according to G1. The incident was reported on Oct. 10, 2026.

The broader context here is the set of hard choices packed into those three hours. Crisis teams faced very young hostages in a confined classroom, a knife, a possible firearm and a fire threat. That mix narrows safe tactical options and puts heavy strain on talks. The decision to use lethal force followed reported physical violence against the children. Planners typically review gate and classroom access, how negotiation works when hostages cannot speak for themselves, coordination between special forces and city school officials, and sustained care for children and staff.