On the morning of October 23, 2023, a São Paulo high school in Brazil became the site of another shooting when a male student started firing. This act led to the death of a 17-year-old girl and injuries to two students. The shooter, a student at the same school, had suffered consistent bullying.

Subsequent to the event, the São Paulo state government relayed that the police had arrested the young shooter. Medical treatment was administered to the injured students at a nearby hospital. This incident joins the rising number of similar violent events in Brazilian schools.

Attempting to address this concerning trend, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva rolled out a plan in April. This plan is aimed at decreasing the frequency of such violent incidents in schools. Weighing in on the issue, the President remarked, “We cannot normalize affordable guns for young people in our society and tragedies like these.”

Since the year 2000, Brazil has been struck by nearly 24 school shootings. Even more concerning, half of these have occurred over the last 18 months.

A particularly haunting incident was reported in Aracruz, Espirito Santo state. A teenage shooter, displaying Nazi emblems, took the lives of two students and an educator. Such incidents have amplified calls across the nation for a reconsideration of existing gun policies.

Further insight into the São Paulo event was provided by surveillance footage. The video displays the shooter stealthily approaching and shooting a student from behind, then turning to two 15-year-olds. Fellow students have voiced that the shooter had endured bullying due to his sexual identity.

It was later determined that the firearm involved in the São Paulo incident was legally registered to the shooter’s father.

With heightened focus on the safety of students and gun control measures, Brazil stands at a crucial point in time. The country’s focus must now shift to understanding the root of these issues and crafting lasting strategies to mitigate them.