A 14-year-old student was detained after attacking a teacher with a pocket knife during a tutoring class at a private school in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state. The attack happened on Wednesday afternoon (26) in the Adrianópolis neighborhood, in the city's south-central area, and was recorded by a security camera installed in the classroom, according to Folha de S.Paulo.
The Civil Police of Amazonas are investigating the case as an offense equivalent to attempted homicide, the Specialized Precinct for Juvenile Offenses (Deaai) told G1. Under Brazilian law, minors under 18 do not face criminal charges; their cases are handled as atos infracionais by the juvenile justice system. The teenager was taken to the precinct on Thursday (27), gave a statement and, after judicial authorization, was sent to a provisional detention unit, where he remains. Executing a search and seizure warrant, police collected his backpack, which held a pocket knife, a kitchen knife and his personal cellphone. According to detective Luiz Rocha, who leads the case, the pocket knife was the weapon used in the attack.
The teacher, identified as Vinícius Siqueira Figueiredo, 23, was struck by nine blows to the neck, arms and legs. He was first taken to the 28 de Agosto emergency hospital and later transferred to a private hospital in Manaus, where he remains in stable condition, out of danger but under observation. In an interview with the news portal Rios de Notícias, the teacher described lasting effects from the attack: "I cannot move my leg properly." Police will hear his testimony after he is discharged.
The motive remains unknown. Detective Luiz Rocha said witnesses and the teenager's relatives have already been heard and that his cellphone will undergo forensic analysis. "We still have some steps to complete to try to reach the real motive behind what happened," Rocha said, according to Folha. The teenager has not explained what led him to carry out the attack.
Union demands a response
The case has renewed the debate over school safety in Manaus, an issue that remains central to public policy in Brazil after a series of school attacks in recent years. According to the news portal Radar Amazônico, the local teachers' union demanded a response from Amazonas state authorities. The Civil Police said they will not release further details to avoid interfering with the investigation, and the Amazonas state court did not answer Folha's request to confirm whether the teenager or his family had retained a lawyer.