Police in Curitiba, Brazil, rescued 13 children from a kindergarten on Friday after killing a man who had held them hostage and threatened to set fire to the building, officials said.
Police spokesperson Leticia Martins said the man entered a classroom after jumping a gate, carried a knife and spread a flammable liquid while holding a lighter. At least one child was injured, according to Alexandre Lopes Dias, commander of a Paraná state military police special-forces unit. The New York Post, citing a local outlet, reported that staff members were also held and that the standoff lasted more than three hours.
Martins said negotiators were deployed but police determined there was no alternative to stopping the suspect. The suspect was not identified in the reports.