Brazil school shooting: Masked gunmen kill at least six children at school in São Paulo

Two masked gunmen have opened fire in a Brazilian school, killing at least six children and two employees.

Police in São Paulo said the two men entered the building and started shooting at about 9.30am local time, when the children were on their snack breaks. They later killed themselves.

Another 17 people, mostly school children, were shot and injured. Several of them are in a serious condition.

Police said they were not yet aware of a motive for the violence.

The men, believed to be aged between 20 and 25 years old, shot and killed a worker at a nearby car wash before their attack at the Raul Brasil school, attended by more than 1,000 children aged between 11 and 15.

Marcelo Salles, commander of police forces in São Paulo state, said in over three decades of service he had "never seen anything like this, it was an unspeakably brutal crime".

Mr Salles said the gunmen used at least one .38 caliber pistol, along with homemade bombs and a crossbow.

Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria described the incident as "the saddest thing I have seen in my life."

Homemade video taken during the shooting and aired by Globo TV showed children screaming, running and begging for their lives as loud bangs were heard.

Security cameras from homes near the school showed children climbing and jumping over a white wall that surrounds the Raul Brasil building, and running down streets, screaming for help.

The last major school shooting in Brazil was in 2011, when 12 children were shot dead by a former pupil in Rio de Janeiro.

While gun laws in the country are extremely strict, it is not difficult to illegally purchase a weapon.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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