A survey by the Fogo Cruzado Institute found that 29 shootings took place around 59 schools and daycare centers in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, in the first week of this year’s school year. According to the calendar released both by the state government and by most municipalities, school activities began on February 6th. On the first day of school, a shooting led to the closure of 12 schools in Vila Kennedy, on the west side of the capital. On the 14th, a new episode in the neighborhood made five educational institutions suspend their activities. In Cidade de Deus, also in the west zone, students from several school units were without classes on February 10th. Fogo Cruzado emerged in 2016, initially as an application developed by Amnesty International to monitor shootings and their impacts in urban centers. Becoming an institute with independent management in 2018, it currently manages a platform that brings together several indicators on armed violence in different municipalities in the state. In this survey, occurrences mapped within a radius of up to 300 meters from public and private educational institutions during class hours were considered. In the week of February 6-10, there were a total of 59 shootings in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro. The 29 registered around schools and kindergartens thus represent more than half of the total. The capital of Rio de Janeiro accounted for the largest number of these occurrences. There were 20, which represents 69% of the total. There were also records in Niterói (2), Duque de Caxias (2), São João de Meriti (2), Belford Roxo (1), Itaboraí (1) and Japeri (1). Still according to the survey, 19 of the 29 shootings took place during police operations. In a note, the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro reported that its planned actions strictly comply with legal determinations and are based on information from official bodies, such as government intelligence agencies and the Public Security Institute (ISP). “The clashes are provoked by heavily armed criminals who try to prevent the presence of the State in public spaces”, says a note from the corporation. The PM reported that the violent lethality rate for 2022 fell compared to 2021, and that, last year, it carried out more than 34,000 arrests and seized more than 6,000 weapons. The Secretary of State for Education, on the other hand, informed that the management of the school units has the autonomy to take measures to ensure the physical integrity of its students, teachers and employees. In turn, the Municipal Secretary of Education of Rio de Janeiro said that, if necessary, it does not hesitate to suspend classes in order to guarantee everyone’s safety. The folder also said that the Safer Access Program, created in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross, established protocols for risk mitigation in units located in conflict areas. It foresees, for example, the possibility of offering remote teaching in certain situations.
Agência Brasil
Folha Nobre - Desde 2013 - ©