A man armed with a rifle burst into the Frei Gaspar Municipal School, a city-run public school in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in Rio de Janeiro's West Zone, on Monday morning (24) while fleeing a Military Police operation. To try to avoid arrest, he abandoned the weapon inside the building, put on kitchen clothes and tried to pass himself off as a merendeiro, a school meal server, but officers found and arrested him before students arrived.
According to G1, the operation was led by the 31st Military Police Battalion (Recreio dos Bandeirantes) in the Pombo sem Asa community, in Vargem Grande, targeting drug trafficking groups. Terra reports that officers were also operating in the neighboring Cascatinha community, in the Vargens area, and that there was a shootout with armed men. At around 6 a.m., when he spotted the police teams, the suspect ran with the rifle, jumped the school wall and entered the building, about an hour and a half before classes were due to start.
The cafeteria worker disguise
Inside the school, the man dropped the rifle and put on white clothes, an apron and a hygienic cap used by the staff who prepare school meals, in an attempt to blend in with employees, according to Terra. A cleaning worker found the stranger in a bathroom near the kitchen and alerted the school's management, which called the police. The suspect was arrested before 7:30 a.m., when students were expected to arrive, and left the school in handcuffs, according to G1.
According to the Military Police, the suspect is from Vila Velha, in the state of Espírito Santo, and is suspected of involvement with drug trafficking. Four other men were arrested in the operation, and police seized two rifles and three pistols. The case was referred to the 42nd Police Precinct, which covers the Recreio area.
Rio's Municipal Education Department said the police were called as soon as the break-in was noticed and that the arrest happened before classes began. Classes at Frei Gaspar were moved on Monday to the nearby Teófilo Moreira Municipal School as a safety measure. According to Terra, no one was hurt.