Rio metropolitan area had 460 shootings near schools in 2023

The metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro had 673 shootings in 2023 alone. Of these, 460 took place near public and private schools. The data are from Instituto Fogo Cruzado, which monitors this type of occurrence.

Considering the total number of shootings, episodes that took place near schools in Greater Rio represent 68% of the total. Of the 7,386 public and private educational institutions and daycare centers in the region, 725 were impacted by these armed clashes, that is, one in ten schools. Of the 460 shootings near schools, 226 of them (nearly half) were due to police actions.

The city of Rio was the one that suffered the most from the exchange of gunfire near school units. There were 330 of the 460 occurrences. In Duque de Caxias, there were 37 cases. Among the neighborhoods, the most impacted were Praça Seca (27), Vila Kennedy (23), Cidade de Deus (19), Bangu (14) and Brás de Pina (14).

According to the coordinator of Fogo Cruzado in Rio de Janeiro, Carlos Nhanga, a shooting affects the entire population. People stop leaving home to work and study, schools are closed and, in extreme cases, children die.

He mentions the 12-year-old Luiz Davi, shot in the head during a police action when he was on his way to school with other children, in São Gonçalo.

“This survey shows an unacceptable situation in which public security in Rio finds itself. Children and adolescents are losing their basic right to education due to a security policy that prioritizes confrontation and does not guarantee quality of life for the population. It is necessary to create policies that effectively guarantee the future and protection of our children and adolescents”, argues Nhanga.

What does the government say

By means of a note, the Military Police reported that their actions are guided by technical criteria and prior planning, always having a central concern with the preservation of lives.

“The corporation [PM] points out that actions to combat organized crime are planned based on intelligence information, guided by technical criteria and the provisions of current legislation, with the central concern of preserving lives, being carried out in an integrated manner with other security agencies. The State Government has been investing in equipment so that the actions of the Military Police are increasingly technical and safe for police officers and society”, says the note.

The State Department of Education did not report on the specific procedures to be adopted in case of shootings around schools, but said that it created an Integrated Action Plan for Safety and a Culture of Peace in Schools, which aims to avoid cases of aggression, bullying [intimidação sistemática]racism, theft and other violations of rights.

“In addition, more than two thousand educators have already been trained by the Military Police to act in crisis management and adopt protocols, until the security agents arrive. The work of the School Patrol was also reinforced and, soon, schools will have the Rede Escola application, developed by the PM, which will enable direct contact between education professionals and the security forces”, says the note.

The Civil Police reported that it carries out investigative work, gathering intelligence and strategic data to identify criminals involved in the crimes committed. The institution adds that “it works together with the Military Police to curb such criminal practices and that acting in communities is part of actions to combat crime and it is a fundamental work, since criminal organizations use the resources arising with criminal practices to finance their territorial domains, with the restriction of freedom of the inhabitants of the regions occupied by them.”

The Municipal Secretary of Education of Rio was also sought, but has not yet manifested itself.