Rio De Janeiro School Shooting
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On the morning of 7 April 2011, a
mass shooting A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...
occurred at the Tasso da Silveira Municipal School, an
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
in
Realengo Realengo is a neighborhood in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The lower and middle-class neighborhood is between the Mendanha and Pedra Branca mountains.CNN Wire Staff.Hero officer kept Brazilian school massacre from being even worse" ' ...
on the western fringe of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, Brazil. Twelve students were killed and 22 others were seriously wounded by Wellington Menezes de Oliveira, a 23-year-old former student, who committed the attack with two
revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
s. The killer was intercepted by the police, but committed suicide before being arrested. It was the first non-gang school shooting with a sizable number of casualties reported in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. Although police found no concrete evidence of religious or political motives, texts found at Oliveira's home suggest that he was obsessed with terrorist acts and
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, which he had converted to two years beforehand, after having been a
Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...
. In his last wishes, he requested to be buried following Islamic traditions, and asked
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
for eternal life and " God's forgiveness for what I have done." According to his adoptive sister and a close colleague, the shooter was reserved and suffered from
bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
.


Background

Police investigations prior to the massacre, via an anonymous report, found that Oliveira had left to buy a .32-caliber revolver with two men—Charleston Souza de Lucena, an unemployed watchman, and Izaías de Souza, a locksmith—and both suspects confessed having been middlemen in the revolver's sale at a nearby
kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...
in
Sepetiba Sepetiba is a neighborhood in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, surrounded by Santa Cruz and Guaratiba, and by the Sepetiba Bay. It occupies an area of 1,162.13 ha, and has a population of 35,892 (according to Instituto Brasileiro de ...
. Oliveira's claim, according to one of the suspects, was that he would use the weapon to protect himself, as he lived alone. A third man would have participated in the sale, Robson, supplying the weapon directly to Oliveira, with the other two were only the middlemen. Both arrested men said they regretted the sale. Isaías said: "If I had known it was to do that, I wouldn't have participated, because I also have kids, that even study at the school in front of Wellington's house", while Charleston said: "Now unfortunately I have to pay for this act. I hope the Justice does what it needs to do, that it is fulfilled." Even though the accused have claimed that Robson died in 2011, the police still investigated him and tried to find evidence for his supposed death. The investigators also don't know how Oliveira obtained his other weapon, a .38 Special revolver, with which he fired the most shots.


Shooting

At around 8:30
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on Thursday, 7 April 2011, Oliveira entered the Tasso da Silveira Municipal School. He was well-dressed and identified himself as
lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...
that would talk to the students that morning. After being allowed entry, Oliveira proceeded to the first floor and entered an eighth-grade classroom, where the second half of a double Portuguese class was happening. Oliveira entered without asking for permission, took out his weapons, and started to shoot several pupils. He was armed with two revolvers, one in each hand, and a number of
speedloader A speedloader is a tool, device used to reduce the time and effort needed to reload a firearm. Speedloaders come in a variety of forms for reloading revolvers, or the Magazine (firearms), magazines used with other types of firearms such as rifle ...
s that, according to the police, demanded training for their use. Oliveira specifically targeted girls and only shot boys in the arms and legs in order to incapacitate them; according to witnesses, he referred to the girls as 'impure beings' and positioned the weapon in their foreheads before killing them. Ten girls and two boys, aged between 13 and 16, died. Oliveira was able to fire more than thirty shots due to the speedloaders. The children and staff members ran out of the school as soon as Oliveira started shooting. Two agents from the
Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
who were patrolling the area were alerted to the shooting by a boy who had escaped from the building. A Rio de Janeiro military policeman,
Third Sergeant Third sergeant is typically a non-commissioned officer rank, used in some countries. Brazil Third sergeant is a rank in the armed forces of Brazil. File:G03-EB Terceiro Sargento.svg, (Brazilian Army) File:G03-MB Terceiro Sargento.svg, (Brazi ...
Márcio Alexandre Alves, encountered the gunman and shot him in the leg and in the stomach; the gunman fell down a staircase and then shot himself in the head. According to Alves, Oliveira pointed his gun at him, but didn't shoot. He later stated, "The feeling is of sadness for the children. I have a kid that age. But also there's a feeling of accomplishment, I stopped him from going to the third floor and making more victims." 11 of the 12 students were buried the day after the shooting following the Brazilian practice of burying (or cremating) people within a day of their death. The twelfth child's body was cremated two days after the shooting.


Perpetrator

Wellington Menezes de Oliveira (13 July 1987 – 7 April 2011), a 23-year-old former pupil of the school, was identified as the perpetrator. When he was a baby, he was the
adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
by Dicéa Menezes de Oliveira, as his biological mother suffered from a mental illness and had tried to commit suicide. He was described by family and friends as a quiet, shy and introspective boy, who stayed out of trouble and followed rules. His adopted mother, who died in 2010, was a
Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...
; Wellington also had taken part in the religion, but never adhered to it. He spent a good part of his time online. In an April 13 interview, his family members confirmed that Wellington was closed-off and introspective, that he only related to people online, had few friends and didn't participate in the family life, spending almost all of his time in front of the computer. Being adopted by a woman in her 50s and having married siblings, he was treated coldly by his mother, who already anticipated that she would leave him early due to her age. She's described as a safe haven to Oliveira and her death worsened his mental illness, already known by his family and with an attempt of treatment with a psychologist, that was abandoned by the young man. He attended Jehovah's Witnesses meetings with his mom, who was very religious, but didn't adhere to the religion. He didn't have a connection with Islamic groups, like the media initially reported, although he searched for other religions when he disconnected from Jehovah's Witnesses. His family member also said they were surprised with the crime and scared of publicly exposing themselves. Oliveira, in a letter, refers to the
bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
he suffered at school: "A lot of times I was beaten by a group, and everyone who was around mocked me, had fun with the humiliation I suffered with, without caring about my feelings". According to the statement of an ex-schoolmate: "Once upon a time in school they put Wellington with his head down, placed his head on the toilet and flushed it. Some people instigated the girls: 'Come on, mess with him'. Or they would be the one incentivizing: 'Let's play with him, let's screw with him'. The abuse happened in 2001. In that year, on
September 11 Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...
, the biggest terrorist attack of all time became an obsession to Wellington". Oliveira attended the Tasso da Silveira Municipal School from 1999 to 2002. According to former schoolmates he was a strange, very reserved person constantly harassed by others, was called "Sherman" (an allusion to a character from '' American Pie''), as well as "suingue" (swing), because he had a limp leg, and was once thrown into a garbage bin.Wellington Menezes era vítima de 'bullying' nos tempos da escola
''
O Globo ''O Globo'' (, ''The Globe'') is a Brazilian newspaper based in Rio de Janeiro. ''O Globo'' is the leading daily newspaper in the country and the most prominent print publication in the Grupo Globo media conglomerate. Founded by journalist Ir ...
'' (8 April 2011)
In a video he had recorded two days prior to the shooting Oliveira stated: "The struggle for which many brothers died in the past, and for which I will die, is not solely because of what is known as "bullying" he English word Our fight is against cruel people, cowards, who take advantage of the kindness, the weakness of people unable to defend themselves.Em vídeo, atirador diz que lutava contra covardes e bullying
''
O Dia ''O Dia'' (''The Day'') is a major daily newspaper in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its sales are slightly higher than its main rival, ''O Globo''. In August 2012, it was sold to Grupo Record. History The newspaper was founded on 5 June 1951 by the ...
'' (12 April 2011)
After the death of Dicéa, his brothers searched his computer and found that he searched a lot about arming. In addition to buying weapons and ammunition, he also took shooting classes. There is evidence that he planned an attack since the previous year, always with the intent of revenge and admiration for other terrorist attacks. His body was buried in a
potter's field A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been pur ...
at the
Caju Cemetery The São Francisco Xavier Cemetery is the largest of the many necropolises that make up the group popularly known as the Caju Cemetery, located in the Caju neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro's North Zone. It is the largest cemetery in the state of R ...
on April 22, after fifteen days in the coroner's office, without the presence of any family. In his last wishes, he wished to be buried following
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic traditions, and asked
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
for eternal life and "God's forgiveness for what I have done". None of the procedures that he had asked to be done in his suicide letter were done. Police confirmed they had a letter stating the perpetrator's intention to commit suicide. The police stressed that they found no concrete evidence of a religious or political motive for the attack. Texts found at Oliveira's home suggest that he was obsessed with terrorist acts and
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, which he described as the most correct religion. A neighbor said Oliveira had turned to
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
two years beforehand. In his letters, Oliveira states that he attended the
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
in downtown Rio and that he would study the
Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
for four hours daily. He also describes his association with "Abdul", who came from overseas and who boasted about having taken part in the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. He also indicated his desire to move to a
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
majority country, either
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or
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. However, Islamic leaders in Rio denied Oliveira's claims. Pictures taken by Oliveira show him standing in positions similar to that of
Seung-Hui Cho Cho Seung-hui (; ; ; January 18, 1984 – April 16, 2007), anglicized as Seung-Hui Cho, was a South Korean mass murderer who perpetrated the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. Cho killed 32 people and wounded 17 others with two semi-automatic pi ...
, perpetrator of the
Virginia Tech shooting The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree killer, spree shooting that occurred on Monday, April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Tech, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksbu ...
, including him pointing the firearms used in the shooting at himself and the camera. It was later confirmed he felt "inspired" by Cho, going so far as to call him a "brother" and thanking him, along with fellow Brazilian Edmar Freitas, the perpetrator of the 2003
Taiúva school shooting On 28 January 2003, a Mass shooting, mass school shooting occurred at Escola Estadual Coronel Benedito Ortiz in Taiúva, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. 18-year-old ex-student Edmar Freitas opened fire on people inside the school, wounding ...
, for their "bravery" and for "leading the way".


Victims

The list of victims was released by police in Rio de Janeiro: The families of four victims decided to
donate A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as blo ...
the victims' organs. The city hall paid homage to the victims, naming twelve daycares in the city after them. The first to receive this homage was Samira Pires Ribeiro, whose name was given to a day care (''Espaço de Desenvolvimento Infantil'') in
Guaratiba Guaratiba is a large neighborhood in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the east side of Sepetiba Bay. Its population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a m ...
. Six injured teenagers, two of them in critical condition, required further treatment.


Investigation


Police inquiry

The killer's computer was tested to find out with who he electronically corresponded (he had been messaging with a specific person for three months) and the shooting instructor that taught Oliveira was heard by the deputy. The police didn't have any intentions of recreating the crime in Realengo and a forensic psychologist was tasked with issuing a report about the mental conditions of the shooter. In April 14, the man that sold the .38 caliber revolver was located by the police. He also sold munition (60 cartridges) and the
speedloader A speedloader is a tool, device used to reduce the time and effort needed to reload a firearm. Speedloaders come in a variety of forms for reloading revolvers, or the Magazine (firearms), magazines used with other types of firearms such as rifle ...
. Police also spoke with an ex-classmate of Oliveira named Abdul, with whom the shooter messaged online, mas ruled out complicity. For the deputy, the crime was clarified and "he (Oliveira) acted alone. It was a mentally ill person that had a psychotic break and ended up in the tragedy that touched the whole country." The police estimate that over 60 shots were fired by the perpetrator during the shooting. His body was found with a .38 caliber and a .32 caliber revolver, some
speedloader A speedloader is a tool, device used to reduce the time and effort needed to reload a firearm. Speedloaders come in a variety of forms for reloading revolvers, or the Magazine (firearms), magazines used with other types of firearms such as rifle ...
s and a
bandolier A bandolier / bandoleer or a bando is a pocketed belt (clothing), belt for holding either individual Cartridge (firearms), cartridges, belt (firearms), belts of ammunition or United States 40 mm grenades, grenades. It is usually slung sash-styl ...
with 18 unused rounds. * The .32-caliber
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Model 73 snubnosed revolver belonged to a man who died in 1994 and according to his son, it was stolen from him by the time of his death. The police apprehended the two men who illegally sold the weapon to the perpetrator, who, according to them, claimed he needed the firearm for his own protection. * Despite the fact that the .38-caliber
Rossi Model 971 The Rossi Model 971 is a revolver manufactured by the Rossi Firearms, Rossi Firearm Company of Brazil, which was owned by the Interarms Firearms of Alexandria, Virginia. Description The 971 is offered in calibers .38 Special, .38 Special +P and . ...
revolver had its serial number almost totally scratched-off, the Police managed to locate the weapon's original owner, a 57-year-old man who worked in a
slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...
and was a former co-worker of the perpetrator. According to the seller he sold Wellington the weapon, the speedloaders, and a huge quantity of ammunition, possibly that used in the shooting.


Motivation

The massacre's motivation is not fully known. It is thought that the killer has
psychopathy Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity ...
traits. However, it is not fully certain that the Realengo killer was a psychopath, since one of the main traits of psychopathy is lack of remorse and the pleasure one has watching the suffering of the victims. From the psychiatric point of view, a sociopath doesn't have suicidal ideation, feels pleasure in killing but doesn't harm his own life. With scientific rigor, the Realengo killer suffered with some neuropsychiatric disorder with psychopathic traits, combining persecutory ideation, delirium, hallucinations, fantasies and a distorted reality. His suicide letter and his personal page on the
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contained religious themes and passages from the Bible. The newspaper Clarín, stated that the author concluded his suicide letter with the request of a "typical
catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
believer", by writing that he needed the "visit of a faithful believer of God at his grave at least once" and by citing the
second coming of Christ The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to Heaven (which is said to have occurred about two thousand years ago). The ...
, even though other religious movements also believe in Parousia. In the afternoon of the tragedy, the national media put out that his adoptive sister said that he had connections to
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, didn't leave the house and "lived on the Internet". Another speculation is that the shooter had suffered from
bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
when he was in school. That opens the opportunity to say that it was an "imported tragedy" because it wasn't new in other countries, like the
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,
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,
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e
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, but very rare in Brazil. Adding the religious motivation to the mistreatment during school times, a close friend of Oliveira stated that he "suffered from bullying, was addicted to violent games and terrorist attacks". The classmate also said Oliveira's nickname was
Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
. He also said that Oliveira was reserved and, among topics of their conversations, some stood out like terrorist attacks,
9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
being "his favorite". In Oliveira's house, they found letters in which it was found he had connections with extremist Islamic groups and that he practiced Islam, read the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
four hours a day, meditated on attacks and had an interest in visiting Muslim countries. Visiting the barber, according to the latter's statement, he said he couldn't shave his long beard that covered his face because he would be kicked out of the group he was a part of and with which he periodically met up with in Rio de Janeiro (the beard, is in fact, part of the Islamic tradition as a symbol of masculinity, reason for pride and object of extra attention, also representing the believers reputation). During the crime, the shooter didn't have his beard anymore and, according to a local shopkeeper, Oliveira had completely shaven his beard the day prior to the massacre. The letters found in his house also mentioned two extremists with whom Oliveira corresponded online and one of them had stated that he almost took part on
9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. However, the police disregards that line of investigation because they believe that such terrorist connections could have been mere deliriums, and information that there were direct ties with Islam was denied by people close to him and also by the National Union of Islamic Entities of Brazil. Sources connected to organizations of Human Right's defense stated that the crime was also motivated by misogyny, because analyzing the profile of the crime, the focus was on the girls, as the shots fired towards the boys were accidental. It's also said that a hate page famous at the time, whose owners were arrested in March 2012, exalted Oliveira's action in the moment of the crime. It's important to highlight the similarities which other massacres, like the one done by
Elliot Rodger Elliot Oliver Robertson Rodger (July 24, 1991 – May 23, 2014) was a British and American mass murderer who is known for killing six people and injuring fourteen others during the 2014 Isla Vista killings. The murders he committed, his suicid ...
.


Videos

In Oliveira's house, police found two videos in which he talked about the motivations of his crime. He made a speech considered confusing and with signs that he was doped in which, between other statements, said: "The struggle for which many brothers died in the past, and for which I will die, is not solely because of what is known as bullying. Our fight is against cruel people, cowards, who take advantage of the kindness, the weakness of people unable to defend themselves." On April 13, the police shared a new video recovered from the
hard drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating hard disk drive platter, pla ...
of Oliveira's computer and done before July 2010, in which he reads a letter. The 58-second video would have been done by the shooter in an unknown location. All of the data archives of the hard drive were recovered with a program used by the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
, even thought Oliveira tried to delete them on the day of the crime. That video reinforces the thesis that Oliveira wanted to take revenge for the bullying he suffered in school: "Most people that disrespect me, think I'm an idiot, that take advantage of my kindness, that judge me in advance .. An action will done for your fellow men that are humiliated, assaulted, disrespected in various places, like schools and colleges". On April 15, the authorities shared a video recorded by the killer in which he describes all his preparation for the crime and makes it clear that his motivation were the humiliations suffered at school.


Suicide letter

First you should known that the impure won't be able to touch me without gloves, only the Chaste or those who lost its chastity after marriage and haven't been involved in adultery will be able to touch me without wearing gloves, that is, no fornicator or adulterer will have direct contact with me, or anything impure will touch my blood, no impure will have direct contact with a virgin without his permission, the ones that'll take care of my burying should take their clothes off, bathe me, dry me and wrap me totally nude in a white sheet that is in this building, in a bag I left in the first room on the first floor, after wrapping me in the sheet you'll able to put me in my coffin. If possible, I want to be buried next to where my mother sleeps. My mother's name is Dicéa Menezes de Oliveira and is buried in the Murundu cemetery. I need the visit of a faithful believer in God at my grave at least once, I need him to pray in front of my grave asking forgiveness to God for what I did pleading that in his coming, Jesus wakes me from the sleep to the eternal life. I left a house in
Sepetiba Sepetiba is a neighborhood in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, surrounded by Santa Cruz and Guaratiba, and by the Sepetiba Bay. It occupies an area of 1,162.13 ha, and has a population of 35,892 (according to Instituto Brasileiro de ...
that no family member needs, there are charities for the poor, financed by generous people that take care of abandoned pets, I want that space where I spent my last months to be donated to one of those institutions, because those animals are despised beings and need a lot more protection and care than the human beings that have the advantage to be able to communicate, work to eat, so, the ones that appropriate my house, I ask to please have good sense and fulfill my wish, and fulfilling my wish, you automatically are fulfilling the parents wish of passing the property to my name and everyone knows that, if you don't fulfill my wish, you're automatically disrespecting the parents wishes, what proves you don't have any consideration for our parents that already sleep, I believe that all of you have some consideration for our parents, prove it by doing what I asked. - Wellington Menezes de Oliveira


Interpretation

There were a lot of analysis and interpretations by theologian, psychologists and justice experts when the letter was revealed. Even though the first passage presents us with citations of aspects common to different religions, certain experts said that the text, however, doesn't bring "direct references to a specific belief and that it can't be read as an authentic religious speech". By citing the words "purity" and "chastity", enforcing a certain religious sense to them, he asked that his body was washed and wrapped in a white sheet left by him in the school building. Because of that, there were a lot of statements of a supposed connection of the killer to
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and that his letter was similar to those left by Islamic radicals, like the one left by
Mohamed Atta Mohamed Atta (1 September 196811 September 2001) was an Egyptian terrorist hijacker for al-Qaeda. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist, he was the ringleader of the September 11 attacks and served as the Aircraft hijacking, hijacker-pi ...
, one of the 9/11 terrorists. The Federation of Muslim Association of Brazil, in contrast, published a note on the afternoon of the 7th to make clear that the shooter wasn't part of the community. The National Union of Islamic Entities of Brazil, even though they published a note stating that Oliveira didn't have ties with the representation and the
Muslim religion Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number 2 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious populatio ...
, admitted that his burying request was within the practices of Muslim rituals done during the burying of a body. Certain experts refute that statement tied to Islam. The theologian
Leonardo Boff Leonardo Boff (; born Genézio Darci Boff, ; 14 December 1938) is a Brazilian Catholic theologian, philosopher writer, and former Catholic priest known for his active support for Latin American liberation theology. He is professor emeritus o ...
, for example, talked about the point where the letter's author cites the second coming of Jesus, stating that Oliveira "doesn't connect to the Jewish, Muslim religion, none of that. He's part of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Jews wait for the Messiah. To the Christians, the Messiah is Jesus". Boff also says: "He juxtaposes a lot of elements of the religions that are on the market. He's a
syncretic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus ...
Brazilian ..And within Christianity, there's
Manichaean Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...
groups. It's a pathology that goes across all religions". The theologian also observed that two concept would be strong within context of the letter:
manichaeism Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...
and the "conscience of sin", to that he says: "He just wants absolute purity. It's clear that he affiliates that current that is very old.
Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...
was for a long time manichaeanian. The manichaeism comes from a true experience that that is the existence of evil in the world. ..He knows that he's harming God, he asks that a religious person intercede. He's aware that he's done wrong and that, forgiven, he may seek eternal life". Another specialist, Eulálio Avelino Pereira Figueira, coordinator of the specialization course in Religious Science in the
Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo The Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (, PUC-SP), locally known as ''PUC'' or ''Catholic University'' ('), is a private and non-profit Catholic university. It is maintained by the Catholic Archdiocese of São Paulo. The university is ...
, stated: "There's no religion that is founded on gratuitous evil, much less on the perversion and the cruelty. ..The message of the text is a result of an imaginary religious collective". According to a forensic psychologist and writer of the ''Estadão'', Daniel Martins de Barros, it is not unlikely that Oliveira has a personality disorder, but that on itself wouldn't explain the crime, going back to the concept of catathymic crisis to understand what happened.


National response

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the ...
said, through the presidential spokesman, that she was "shocked" and "appalled" and that she spoke on the phone with
Sérgio Cabral Filho Sérgio de Oliveira Cabral Santos Filho (born January 27, 1963) is a Brazilian politician and journalist who served as the governor of Rio de Janeiro from 2007 to 2014. A member of MDB, he previously served as the president of the Legislativ ...
, the state governor, and with
Eduardo Paes Eduardo da Costa Paes (, born 14 November 1969) is a Brazilian politician who became the mayor of Rio de Janeiro from 2009 to 2012, reelected for a second term from 2013 to 2016 and a third in 2021. He is the city's 13th mayor. On 12 August, ...
, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, The
education minister An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...
,
Fernando Haddad Fernando Haddad (; born 25 January 1963) is a Brazilian scholar, lawyer and politician who has served as the Brazilian Minister of Finance since 1 January 2023. He was previously the mayor of São Paulo from 2013 to 2017 and the Brazilian mini ...
, spoke at the end of the morning, saying that the case was "a tragedy without precedents in Brazil". After finding out about the attack, Dilma Rousseff cried talking about what happened, asking for a minute of silence for the victims. She declared three days of
national mourning A national day of mourning is a day, or one of several days, marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the deat ...
. She stated: "I'm not going to give a speech because today we also have to lament what happened in Realengo with helpless children. It wasn't characteristic of the country for something like this to happen. So, I consider that we are all here united in condemnation for that act of violence". Hours after the crime, Sérgio Cabral Filho and Eduardo Paes addressed the press in the gymnasium of the school, where they lamented what happened. Cabral classified the shooter as a "psychopath and animal" and described the sergeant, teachers and children from the elementary school, who were able to call policemen who were nearby, as "heroes". "Without them, the tragedy would have been much worse", he said. The case was listed by G1 (São Paulo) in 2014 as "9 cases of killers that shocked the country with their crimes" and by
Brasil Online Brasil Online (BOL) is an Internet portal that provides email hosting and free email services UOL. History In April 1996, BOL was launched in Brazil by Grupo Abril, one of the largest Communication Holdings in Brazil. Grupo Abril and Grupo Fo ...
(BOL) in 2015 as "22 crimes that shocked Brazil". Many virtual communities on the social media
Orkut Orkut was a social networking service owned and operated by Google. The service was designed to help users meet new and old friends and maintain existing relationships. The website was named after its creator, Google employee Orkut Büyükkö ...
were created to glorify the crime and its author, defending his actions and inciting people to do the same. The moderators of these communities use fake profiles and participate in other communities like "defense of rape as 'corrective practice' to lesbians, death to gays, to black people and even laments of the non-extinction of countries like Japan, in the earthquake followed by the tsunami". The criminalists expressed their concern and announced that the
Public Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...
can frame these virtual environments in the repression laws to racism crimes and the kind.
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
, owner of the website, deleted the communities as their policies. The incident sparked nationwide discussions about how safe Brazilian schools are, and the government promised to advance a disarmament program from 6 May 2011, until the end of the year. On 9 April 2011, the house where Wellington de Oliveira had lived had a
graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
inscription "assassino covarde" (cowardly murderer). Two days later, a group of local people and former students of the school repainted the house, saying that people "should not continue the harm that he has caused". Hundreds of residents and students from other schools gathered outside the school in memory of the dead. Posters and flowers were left in front of the school. On 10 April, a group of protesters hung blood-stained Brazilian flags on
Copacabana beach Copacabana ( , , ) is a Brazilian (neighbourhood) located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is most prominently known for its 4 km (2.5 miles) balneario beach, which is one of the most famous in ...
in memory of the children killed. At the end of a concert in
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, singer
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...
, from Irish band U2, asked almost 80 thousand people to remember the children who died in Realengo while their names scrolled up on a screen. The three policemen who responded to the shooting were decorated for bravery by Brazilian vice-president
Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 1 January 2019. He took office after the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impe ...
on 12 April 2011. Third Sergeant Márcio Alexandre Alves was promoted to second sergeant;
Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...
s Denilson Francisco de Paula and Ednei Feliciano da Silva were promoted to third sergeant.


International response

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
, the education organ tied to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, manifested immediate repudiation to the attack, through a note on the internet, that said: "UNESCO repudiates the attacks on the Rio school and sympathizes with the families. The school should be a place to rebuild the peace and culture." The international press commented that Brazilian public opinion was shocked by the shooting as it was the first of its kind in the country. The Realengo attack had repercussion in the main news channels. The British websites ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' and
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
; the North-American
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
,
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
, and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'';
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
; the Spanish ''El País''; the Portuguese RTP; and the Argentinian ''Clarín'' highlighted the topic. ''The Guardian'' stated that twenty people were killed, while ''Al Jazeera'' reported twelve deaths. The Spanish newspaper ''El País'' highlighted that "Rio de Janeiro was mourning and appalled because the crimes of that kind are unknown in the city and only read in newspapers when they happen in the United States". The archbishop of Rio de Janeiro,
Orani João Tempesta Orani João Tempesta (; born 23 June 1950) is a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been archbishop of Rio de Janeiro since 2009. He was previously bishop of São José do Rio Preto from 1997 to 2004 and archbishop of Belém do P ...
, received a letter from
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
, who said that he prayed for the quick recovery of the wounded and asked all people of the city to "help build a society with no violence, and respect for each other, especially for the weak and oppressed". Students from
Columbine, Colorado Columbine is a census-designated place (CDP) in and governed by Jefferson County, Colorado, Jefferson and Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe counties in Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropo ...
, United States, the site of a 1999 massacre, made a poster stating their feelings about the tragedy. The poster was sent to the Brazilian elementary school. After the
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting On December 14, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at Newtown Public Schools, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, United States. The perpetrator, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people. The victims were 20 children bet ...
by a former primary pupil, in
Newtown, Connecticut Newtown ( ) is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Greater Danbury area as well as the New York metropolitan area. Newtown was founded in 1705, and later incorporated in 1711. As of the 2020 census, its p ...
, United States, on 14 December 2012, the Tasso da Silveira school held a vigil for the victims on 21 December.


See also

*
List of massacres in Brazil The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Brazil (numbers may be approximate): References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massacres in Brazil (list) Lists of massacres by country, Brazil Brazil culture-related lists, Massacres Massacre ...
*
List of rampage killers (school massacres) This is a list of school massacres by death toll. The # symbol indicates the massacre's ranking by number of deaths (since this list is sorted by death toll, not by date or by number of overall casualties). The W column gives a basic ...


References


External links

{{wikinews, Twelve dead at Brazilian school after man opens fire
The Rio de Janeiro School Massacre
- slideshow by ''
Life magazine ''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...
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