Brazil man kills 4 children with hatchet at day care centre

A man with a hatchet burst into a day care center Wednesday in Brazil, killing four children, authorities said, in an attack that shook the country and put pressure on the government to curb a rising tide of violence, El.kz cites AP news.

At least four other children were wounded in the attack in Blumenau, a city of 366,000 in southern Brazil, near the Atlantic coast.

The assailant, who got inside by jumping over a wall, turned himself in at a police station, officials said. He did not appear to have any connection with the center, which offers nursery services, preschool education and after-school activities. The dead were between the ages of 5 and 7, authorities said.

Authorities were searching for a motive, the police detective leading the investigation, Ronnie Esteves, told television reporters.

Hours after the attack, the justice and education ministers pledged to invest in new violence-prevention efforts.