A 13-year-old student opened fire at a public school in Rio Branco, the capital of Brazil’s Acre state, on Tuesday, killing two women and wounding two others before being taken into custody, authorities said. The state government said in a statement that the teenager admitted carrying out the attack at the Instituto São José.
The two fatalities were female staff members who died at the scene, officials said. Another staff member and a student were injured by gunfire and taken to a hospital. None of the victims’ identities were immediately released.
Police said the suspect used a gun owned by a legal guardian. Local media reported the weapon belonged to the teenager’s stepfather, who was also detained. Authorities have not confirmed the relationship publicly.
“The state expresses deep solidarity with the victims’ families, the school community of Instituto Sao Jose and all education professionals affected by this incident,” Acre Gov. Mailza Assis said in a statement.
The shooting follows a string of attacks in Brazilian schools. In 2025, two teenagers died after a shooting at a school in Ceará state in northeastern Brazil. Ceará recorded another shooting in 2022, when a teenager opened fire on three classmates, killing one. Brazil has seen a rise in school violence in recent years, prompting debates over gun access and security at educational institutions.