Father of student injured at private school in Manaus says he alerted school six months ago

Priscilla Peixoto – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – “He went to kill my daughter, her classmate and her teacher. He told the police himself, today, when he was restrained”. The report is from the lawyer Adroaldo Arruda da Silva, father of one of the victims injured by a classmate who committed an attack on the afternoon of Monday, 10, at the Adventist School of Manaus, private school located in the South Zone of the capital. The father says that at least six months ago the school was already aware of the behavioral problems that the student had been demonstrating in the classroom.

According to Adroaldo, his daughter, who is only 12 years old, the same age as the aggressor, was hit in the arms with a cleaver (a sharp instrument with a curved blade) and could have died if not for the intervention of the teacher, who was also hit.

“They study in the same room, they even sit close together. In short, since last year, every week we had reports of serious problems created by this boy. The last two times, he punched his classmate for no reason, was taken to the coordination office, and came back laughing saying that nothing happened. Days passed, he broke the whole room and, on this occasion, my daughter held him back so he wouldn’t hit another classmate, and I imagine that, since then, he keeps this anger”, recalls the father.

Also read: In Manaus, teen attacks teacher and student in private school

The father says that he went at least four times to the school to demand measures in relation to the student. At the time, the school claimed that measures had already been taken. “The school then informed him that the family was following up with the psychologist. But time has shown that the school has not taken any action,” said the lawyer.

According to Adroaldo, the student claims to have suffered bullying at school, which would have resulted in Monday’s attack. For the lawyer, the violent action is not justifiable. When asked if he had any contact with the parents of the perpetrator, the lawyer answers: “I heard that his mother gave an interview saying that he did this because of bullying situations. Does that mean, then, that if I suffered some kind of bullying, I have carte blanche to kill? And after he victimizes someone, what about the parents of these children?

Fear and revolt

According to the student’s father, to commit the attack, the boy would have had three Molotov cocktails (incendiary chemical weapons, generally used in protests and urban guerrillas), a cleaver, a knife and a lighter hidden in his backpack. Adroaldo talks about his fear of losing his daughter. “If he had the knife and the cleaver in his hand at the same time, I have no doubt that he would have killed my daughter. We are facing an absurdity. He hit my daughter. He went to kill, yes, he told the police himself,” says the victim’s father.

Disgusted with the episode of violence, the lawyer highlights that he will take steps to put into practice the actions focused on reinforcing the safety of students and teachers inside the schools.

“As a father, I will seek the governor of the state, because this fact is not isolated, it began in public schools and now in private schools. I will get the Secretary of Security, those responsible for the private education union, in Amazonas, I will demand measures from the Adventist institution itself and demand that it puts metal detectors in its units. And how am I going to do this? I will seek the Judiciary to compel the school to provide a guarantee of life for our children, because no one leaves a child at school to be stabbed,” says the lawyer who adds:

“We don’t want media, we don’t need it, what we want is for something to be done. Nobody told me, I was there and asked for the expulsion and treatment of this student. Why did my daughter have to be ‘stabbed’ and now the school says that it will take the necessary measures? (…)”.

About the attack

The Adventist School of Manaus, private intitution located at Rua Professor Marciano Armond, Cachoeirinha neighborhood, South Zone of Manaus, was the target of an attack early Monday afternoon, 10. In a statement, the school reported that a “student assaulted two other students in class (…) The victims suffered superficial injuries and were treated and released by Samu on the spot”.

The institute also stated that it is offering support to the students and their families. At the time of the occurrence, besides the Mobile Emergency Care (Samu), the Guardianship Council, the Military Police and the Ronda Ostensiva com Apoio de Motocicletas (Rocam) were on site. The student was apprehended and sent to the Specialized Police Station for Investigating Acts of Infraction (DEAAI), where he will be heard, along with his family members.

The CENARIUM MAGAZINE tried to hear the coordination of the Adventist School, via cell phone, but until the publication of this article there was no contact.

Measures

Also on Monday, 10, the Government of Amazonas held a press conference to announce the creation of an interactive committee that will bring together state departments to address violence in schools. The announcement took place at the Integrated Command and Control Center (CICC). In the occasion, the State Education Secretary, Kuka Chaves, declared about the violence: “We have to face it with courage”.

The State Government also announced another support tool to combat violence in schools. “We have to have the perception, because once it has occurred, we have no way to reverse it, so I ask parents to be attentive to the daily activities of their children, because by means of a drawing in the notebook, we can have indications of something that is not right,” noted the education secretary.

Also read: ‘We must face with courage’, says Secretary of Education of the AM on violence in schools

According to the communications office of the Secretary of Education of the State of Amazonas (Seduc), the committee will be launched on an emergency basis and will operate as soon as enacted in the Official State Gazette (DOE).

In a note, the Union of Private Education Establishments of the State of Amazonas (Sinepe-AM) made a series of recommendations for reinforcement in the private education units in the State. Awareness campaigns, metal detection, studies to identify vulnerable points of invasion to school, severe punishments related to the agenda, are some of the points highlighted.