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Brazil school shooting near Sao Paulo leaves at least 10 dead

Policemen are seen at the Raul Brasil school after a shooting in Suzano
Police are seen at the Raul Brasil School after a shooting in Suzano, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, March 13, 2019. REUTERS

Sao Paulo -- The governor of Brazil's Sao Paulo state said Wednesday that two young men wearing hoods and carrying several weapons opened fired at a school in the country's south, killing eight people before taking their own lives.

Wednesday's shooting happened in a public school in Suzano, a suburb of Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city.

Gov. Joao Doria said the two attackers were believed to be between 20 and 25 years old. He said authorities didn't believe the two were former students.

Doria said the dead included two teachers and six students, and several more people had been hospitalized after sustaining injuries.

Doria said the school had been evacuated and police were inspecting possible explosives left by the shooters. "The school is on lockdown," he said. 

Latin America's largest nation has the largest number of annual homicides in the world, but school shootings are rare.

Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro recently announced that gun ownership controls would be loosened.

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