At least four additional minors were injured. The assailant, aged 25, was apprehended.
A 25-year-old with a small axe killed four five- to seven-year-olds in a Brazilian daycare.
At least five children aged three to five have also been injured and transported to a hospital.
The man was detained in the Santa Catarina state city of Blumenau in the south. After the atrocity, he turned himself into authorities and had no apparent connection to the nursery.
Marcio Alberto Filippi, the local security chief, stated that the assailant scaled a wall to access the private nursery named Cantinho do Bom Pastor.
In a Twitter post, the president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, described the assault as a “monstrosity” and an “unacceptable, absurd act of hatred and cowardice” against “innocent, defenseless children.”
On his Twitter account, the governor of Santa Catarina, Jorginho Mello, verified the killings in the city, writing, “May God comfort the hearts of all families in this time of great sorrow.”
Due to social media rumours of more attacks, Blumenau mayor Mário Hildebrandt halted classes and declared 30 days of mourning.
In Brazil, attacks on schools and institutions are uncommon but have increased in frequency in recent years.
The previous week, a 13-year-old pupil in Sao Paulo fatally stabbed a teacher and injured several others.
Blumenau, a community with a population of 366,000, is renowned for its annual Oktoberfest celebration.
