School violence in Brazil mirrors US, but reaction doesn’t

SAO PAULO — About two weeks after a man killed four children in a Brazilian day care center, authorities already rounded up 302 adults and minors nationwide accused of spreading hate speech or stoking school violence.

The unprecedented crackdown, which risks judicial overreach, underlines the determination of the country’s response across federal, state and municipal levels to stamp out Brazil’s emerging trend of school attacks. It also stands in contrast to the U.S., where such attacks have been more frequent and more deadly for a longer period, yet responses are incremental.

U.S. actions — and its perceived shortcomings — are informing the Brazilian response, said Renan Theodoro, a researcher with Center for the Study of Violence at the University of Sao Paulo.

“We have learned from the successes and the mistakes of other countries, especially the United States,” Theodoro told The Associated Press.

Brazil has seen almost two dozen attacks or violent episodes in schools since 2000, half of them in the last 12 months.

Eraldo Peres, Associated Press

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes attend a meeting regarding school security April 18 at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the notion of schools as safe havens has been “ruined.” His government sought input from independent researchers and this past week convened a meeting of ministers, mayors and Supreme Court justices to discuss possible solutions.

Some changes are in line with those implemented in the U.S., including the creation of hotlines, safety training for schools, federal funding for mental health, plus security equipment and infrastructure.

Other measures — such as the nationwide sweep for supposedly threatening suspects involving over 3,400 police officers, or the newly invigorated push to regulate social media platforms — have not been enacted in the U.S.

Many Brazilian states didn’t wait for the federal response. Sao Paulo, for example, temporarily hired 550 psychologists to attend to its public schools, and hired 1,000 private security guards.

Andre Penner, Associated Press

A student from the Thomazia Montoro public school lights a candle March 28 during a vigil asking for peace the day after a student stabbed a teacher to death at the school in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Brazil’s push garnered broad support in part because proposals haven’t included restricting firearm access. School attacks in Brazil more often are carried out with other weapons, especially knives.

Shootings in the U.S. often ignite debate, with Democrats urging gun control while Republicans push for stronger security measures.

That usually ends in stalemate and legislation rarely passes, though a bipartisan compromise was approved last year. It toughened background checks and kept firearms from more domestic violence offenders, and allocated $1 billion for student mental health and school security.

Other change has come more gradually since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. In almost every state, schools are now required to have safety plans that often include shooter drills. Many school districts have their own safety hotlines, and some use software to monitor social media for threats.

Andre Penner, Associated Press

Parents sit April 6 with the coffin that contains the remains of their 7-year-old daughter Larissa Maia Toldo, who was killed by a man with a hatchet inside a day care center, during a wake at the Sao Jose cemetery in Blumenau, Santa Catarina state, Brazil.

Many U.S. states gave schools money for metal detectors, security officers, bulletproof doors and other measures — stirring another debate over the policing of America’s schools.

Brazilian lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of Lula’s far-right predecessor, was one of a few prominent voices calling for detectors and armed guards, citing some U.S. states as examples, and put forward a bill to make them obligatory at all schools.

Lula said his government won’t consider detectors nor backpack inspections.

Luis Flávio Sapori, a senior associate researcher with the Brazilian Forum for Public Security, said Brazil adopted a mixed approach that stresses mental health care, preventive monitoring of threats and training for teachers in addition to policing.

“In Brazil, we have a clear understanding, based on the U.S. experience, that merely investing in armed security in schools does not work, that police presence in schools doesn’t hinder attacks,” he said. “It only works to transform schools into prisons.”

Andre Penner, Associated Press

Students of the Thomazia Montoro public school shout for peace and against violence March 28 in front of a banner of Elisabete Tenreiro, a 71-year-old teacher who was stabbed to death the previous day, during a vigil at their school in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Since the day care massacre, threats and rumors circulated on social media, stirring dread among students, educators and parents. The ministry empowered a national consumer agency to fine tech companies for not removing content perceived as glorifying school massacres, promoting violence or making threats.

There also appears to be broad support for holding social media platforms accountable. At a recent meeting in the capital, Lula, his justice minister, two Supreme Court justices and the Senate’s president voiced support for regulating the platforms, arguing that speech that is illegal in real life cannot be permitted online.

“Either we have the courage to discuss the difference between freedom of expression and stupidity, or we won’t get very far,” Lula said.

The Rights in Network Coalition, an umbrella group of 50 organizations focused on basic digital rights, expressed concern over giving the government the power to decide what can be said on social media.

Some social media platforms that initially resisted compliance with takedown requests have come around and, in the prior 10 days, removed or suspended more than 750 profiles, Justice Minister Flávio Dino said.

Andre Penner, Associated Press

A family lights a candle April 5 at a makeshift memorial at the Cantinho do Bom Pastor day care center after a fatal attack on children in Blumenau, Brazil.

When a man hopped over the wall of a day care center in Santa Catarina state and killed four children with a hatchet April 5, state prosecutors called on news media to refrain from sharing images or identifying the killer, citing research that this can encourage other attackers.

Behemoth media conglomerate Grupo Globo announced it would no longer name nor portray perpetrators of such crimes in its broadcasts or publications. O Estado de S. Paulo, one of Brazil’s biggest newspapers, followed suit. CNN Brasil and Band also made the change.

In the U.S., outlets have began efforts to use shooters’ names sparingly and to focus on victims’ stories, largely due to advocacy by victims’ relatives. Some ceased running profiles of school shooters.