Republished November 06, 2017 - 11:45 AM
Original Publication Date November 06, 2017 - 9:26 AM
SAO PAULO - A 19-year-old in central Brazil sneaked into his former school on Monday and shot a student 11 times, killing her, authorities said.
Wearing a mask, Misael Pereira de Olair jumped the wall of the May 13 State School in Alexania, a town in Goias state, according to the press office of the state's civil police. He entered the victim's classroom just as school was beginning and opened fire with a revolver.
Raphaella Noviski Romano, 16, died on the spot, a statement from the state's Department of Education said. The department gave the suspect's name as simply Misael Pereira.
Such school shootings are rare in Latin America's largest country, though a 14-year-old student opened fire in a classroom last month in the Goias capital of Goiania. Two students died and four people were wounded in that attack. Students said the shooter had been bullied.
In Monday's attack, police said the suspect appeared to have become enraged after the victim rejected his romantic advances.
"With each refusal, he became angrier, so love turned to hate and for a year he has planned to kill her," Rafaela Azzi, a police inspector, told the G1 news portal. Azzi said that all 11 shots were to the face.
Pereira de Olair was caught as he fled the scene by officers who were responding to the emergency call.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017