Profile of aggressor in attacks on schools is a student, up to 16 years old, who acts alone, points out institute

Brazil has a history of 24 registered cases of violent attacks in schools, in which the average profile of the aggressor is a student of the institution, a 16-year-old boy, who acts alone. The information is contained in an unprecedented mapping carried out by the Sou da Paz institute, released this Monday (22).

The survey also pointed out that 11 of the 24 attacks were carried out with firearms, which, in most cases, the aggressor took from his parents or a relative who lives in the same house.

Sou da Paz used press reports, police reports and court cases for the analysis.

Half of the attacks took place in the Southeast

Sou da Paz points out that the first recorded case of violence in schools in Brazil was at Escola Sigma, in Salvador, in October 2002, when a 17-year-old young man shot at and killed two classmates.

Since then, another 23 attacks have taken place. In total, there were 137 victims – 45 fatal and 92 non-fatal. The attacks took place in 13 Brazilian states, with São Paulo being the only one to have registered more than two episodes.

In terms of regions, the Southeast corresponds to half of the cases already registered. The ranking is followed by Northeast, South, Midwest and North.

60% of the firearms used by the attackers belonged to a relative

“Revolvers and pistols were used in eleven cases, against ten with cold weapons, and shooting attacks generated three times more fatalities than occurrences with cutting or perforating weapons”, highlighted the institute.

On average, cases with a cold weapon left one dead and three injured, while those with a firearm resulted in three fatalities and five non-fatal ones on average.

Sou da Paz also pointed out that, in 60% of the cases with firearms (that is, 6 of the 11 attacks), the weapons were already in the aggressor’s house and belonged to the father, mother or another relative who lived in the same place .

“Main type of weapon used in attacks on schools in Brazil, according to a survey by Sou da Paz”, added the institute.

The authors’ profile

Absolutely all violent attacks ever recorded in Brazilian schools were committed by men or boys.

“With regard to the age of the aggressors, the average is 16 years old, the youngest being a 10-year-old boy (São Caetano do Sul-SP) and the oldest 25 years old,” stated Sou da Paz.

According to the survey, in 88% of cases the aggressor acted alone – that is, in only three cases there was joint action, in pairs.

The aggressors mostly have some relationship with the institution where the attack takes place: 59% were students and 33%, former students. In 93% of cases, the target has some meaning or link with the aggressor.

The survey highlights a study carried out by Unicamp in 2023 that points out two main similar characteristics among many aggressors.

“Suffering at school, such as jealousy, being punished, being the target of bullying and the use of the extremist subculture on the internet (in recent years), with articulation in communities, “chans”, online forums encouraging violence and misogyny, Deep Web (a few years ago) and currently on social networks such as Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter and Discord, with conversations immersed in hate speech, homophobia, racial, social, religious and gender discrimination”, writes the survey report .

Study recommendations

At the conclusion of the mapping, the institute pointed out some recommendations to prevent the occurrence of new attacks in Brazilian schools:

• Co-responsibility of digital platforms;
• Creation of police teams trained in monitoring social networks with the ability to carry out risk analysis, for screening and preventive action;
• Strengthening the school round, strengthening links between the school management and local battalions;
• Training and establishment of an action protocol so that military police officers can respond to these events in order to eliminate the threat as quickly as possible, prepare relief and evacuate victims;
• Establishment of specific programs for students’ mental health and mediation and restorative justice in schools to deal with conflicts and bullying, which must be conducted by professionals dedicated to this activity, without overloading teachers with these attributions;
• Training of teachers and staff so that they can identify behaviors that need to trigger actions in the school community;
• Create actions to instruct people to avoid passing on rumors and messages without identified origin, to avoid panic;
• Tightening of the control and supervision of the purchase of firearms and ammunition to restrict access to more lethal instruments by the aggressors;
• Review facilitations given for allowing teenagers (from 14 years old) to shooting clubs, even if accompanied by a guardian.