The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Brazil (numbers may be approximate):
| Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodeador Massacre | 1820 October 25 | Bonito, Pernambuco | 91 | Governor Luiz do Rego sent troops to destroy a Sebastianist community; believing it to be a separatist movement. 100+ wounded; 200 women and 300 children were imprisoned and taken to Recife[1] [2] | |
| Diligente Brig Massacre | 1823 October 20–22 | Belém, Pará | 255 | 256 mutinous soldiers were locked in the hold of the Brig Diligente. The heat and lack of air caused the prisoners to panic. After multiple demands, the guards gave them a small amount of water, and a brawl started over it. Fearing they might escape, guards fired their weapons into the hold and threw quicklime down the hatches before locking them. All but one prisoner died.[3] [4] | |
| Pedra Bonita massacre | 1838 May 14–17 | Pernambuco | 54 | 12 men, 12 women, and 30 children were sacrificed by a Sebastianist cult. 14 dogs were also killed. The cult's leader was eventually murdered by his brother who took over the cult. The cult was dismantled following a police raid where 5 soldiers and 16 cult members (Including 3 women) were killed.[5] [6] | |
| Alto Alegre massacre | 1901 March 13 | Barra do Corda, Maranhão | 200 | A Rebellion by Guajajara Indians in the municipality of Barra do Corda, resulted in approximately 200 deaths.[7] [8] | |
| Alcobaça Shooting | 1902 July | Alcobaça, Pará | 10 | forty-Indigenous people invaded the city of Alcobaça, and looted the guns of Manoel João, and attacked inhabitants of the city. Raymundo Memado shots and killed ten of the Indigenous people, disbanding them[9] | |
| Iguaçu Massacre | 1914 November | Iguaçu Valley | 17 | During the Contestado war, 17 traders suspected of aiding the rebels were executed by pro-government irregulars.[10] | |
| Garanhuns Hecatomb | 1917 January 15 | Garanhuns, Pernambuco | 18 | Following the assassination of mayor Julio Brasileiro, his nephew Alfredo Viana stormed the city with 100 men to avenge his death. With help from a judge and the police chief, 18 of the former mayor's enemies were lured into the local jail and shot to death.[11] | |
| Battle of Praça da Sé | 1934 October 7 | São Paulo | 7 | Conflict between Anti-fascists and Integralists in the center of the city of São Paulo, 30 wounded | |
| Brazilian communist uprising of 1935 | 1935 November 23–27 | Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Recife, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro | 150 | ||
| Caldeirão massacre | 1937 May 11 | Crato, Ceará | 400-700 | Minister of war Eurico Gaspar Dutra ordered the destruction of the religious community known as ''Caldeirão da Santa Cruz do Deserto''. 200 policemen were sent to attack community, and the area was bombed by three military airplanes [12] [13] | |
| Pau de Colher massacre | 1938 January 19–21 | Pernambuco-Piauí border | 1000 | The Pernambuco police attacked the religious community of Pau de Colher, who included survivors from the Caldeirão massacre. It is estimated a total of 1000 inhabitants were killed; including those who were shot by police and those who died later of starvation and thirst[14] | |
| Integralist Uprising | 1938 May 11 | Rio de Janeiro | 22 | Failed coup by the Brazilian Integralist Action (AIB) against the government of President Getúlio Vargas during the Estado Novo. | |
| Ataléia Barracks Massacre | 1948 10 July | Ataléia, Minas Geraiss | 4 | A group of soldiers stormed the local barracks to release private Alvino Nicolau Alves, who had been arrested for attacking his commanding officer while drunk. 4 guards were killed in the attack.[15] | |
| Pacheco Fernandes Massacre | 1959 February 8 | Brasília, Federal District | 100+ | Mass murder of an unknown number workers by Brasília Special Guard[16] | |
| Niterói circus fire | 1961 December 17 | Niterói, Rio de Janeiro | 503[17] | 800+ wounded, Three people were arrested and convicted of starting the fire[18] | |
| Ipatinga massacre | 1963 October 7 | Minas Gerais | 8 (Officially) | 79 wounded | |
| Massacre at 11th Parallel | 1963[19] November | Mato Grosso | 3,500 | Rubber workers massacre a village of Cinta Larga, leaving only 2 people alive. | |
| Mari massacre | 1964 January 15 | Mari, Paraíba | 11 | Clash between peasants, plant employees and police in Mari, Paraíba leaves 11 dead and 4 injured[20] | |
| Matapiruma massacre | 1972 October 5 | Escada, Pernambuco | 2 | Police officers from the Department of Political and Social Order of Pernambuco (DOPS/PE), opened fire on residents who worked cutting sugarcane, resulting in two deaths and several injuries[21] | |
| Oficina de Reabilitação do Instituto Nacional de Previdência Social massacre [22] [23] [24] [25] | 1977 December 20 | Curitiba, Paraná | 2 | ||
| Princesa Isabel massacre | 1979 June 29 | Princesa Isabel, Paraíba | 7 | [26] [27] [28] | |
| Barra do Garças air disaster | 1980 June 1 | Barra do Garças, Mato Grosso | 8 (including the perpetrator) | 4 wounded, Case of Suicide by pilot | |
| Ubá Farm massacre | 1985 June 13 | São João do Araguaia, Pará | 8 | Eight rural workers were murdered by a group of armed gunmen, at Fazenda Ubá.[29] | |
| Princesa Farm massacre | 1985 September 11 | Marabá, Pará | 5 | Murder and torture of five rural workers who occupied an area of the farm owned by Marlon Pidde in Marabá, southeastern Pará[30] | |
| Umuarama Lynching | 1986 December 20 | Umuarama, Paraná | 3 | A crowd of 2,000 people invades the Umuarama Police Station and kills three prisoners who had raped a girl and murdered her boyfriend and their bodies are burned in a public square.[31] [32] [33] [34] | |
| Pena Verde massacre | 1986 December 31 | Ribas do Rio Pardo, Mato Grosso do Sul[35] | 6 | Serial Killer Osvaldo de Paula Silva, nicknamed Buickinho, kills six people, five of them teenagers on a farm in Ribas do Rio Pardo[36] [37] [38] [39] | |
| Carandiru riot 1987 | 1987 July 29 | São Paulo | 31 | [40] | |
| Helmet massacre | 1988 March 28 | Amazonas | 4 | 19 wounded, Government workers massacre unarmed Ticuna. | |
| 1988 CSN strike | 1988 November 9 | Volta Redonda Rio de Janeiro | 3 | 100+ wounded. Three workers died in an attempt by the police and the army to retake control of the facilities. Two of them were shot and taken by their colleagues to a hospital. One was found with heavy bruises in the head.[41] [42] [43] [44] | |
| 1989 Santa Elmira massacre | 1989 March 11 | Rio Grande do Sul | 19 | 400 injured, MST workers attempted to occupy an area in Salto do Jacuí, but are shot at by UDR rural owners[45] [46] | |
| Ikeda family murders | 1990 March 12 | Tucuruvi, São Paulo | 4 | The Student Marco Antônio dos Santo kills four members of the Ikeda family[47] | |
| Vila Socialista Massacre | 1990 December 11 | Diadema, São Paulo | 2 | Conflicts between Residents and Authorities during a Violent Repossession operation in Diadema leaves 2 homeless dead and 47 injured[48] [49] | |
| Attack on post of the Brazilian Army on the Traíra River | 1991 February 26 | Taraíra River, Amazonas | 3 | FARC guerrillas assaulted the Solimoes post in the remote region of the Traira river near the border with Colombia. The attack left three Brazilian soldiers dead and nine wounded. In response the Brazilian army launched Operation Traira[50] [51] | |
| Carandiru massacre | 1992 October 2 | São Paulo | 111 | The massacre was triggered by a prisoner revolt within the prison. The police made little if any effort to negotiate with the prisoners before the military police stormed the building, as the prison riot became more difficult for prison guards to control. The resulting casualties were of 111 prisoners killed and 37 more were injured | |
| Haximu massacre | 1993 June – July | Haximu, Brazil | 16-73 | Garimpeiros (illegal gold miners) killed Yanomami people | |
| Candelária massacre | 1993 July 23 | Rio de Janeiro | 8 | Police massacre 8 homeless people. | |
| Vigário Geral massacre | 1993 August 29 | Rio de Janeiro | 21 | Rio Military Police attack random people in retribution for being attacked by gangs. | |
| Paar killings | 1995 May 29 | Ananindeua, Pará | 7 (including the perpetrators) | Group of 5 criminals commanded by Paulo Mapará, invade the Conjunto PAAR police station, in Ananindeua, and kill 2 police officers, 2 investigators and 1 delegate.[52] [53] [54] | |
| 1995 August 9 | Corumbiara Rondônia | 12 (Officially) | Conflict between police officers and landless peasants results in the death of 12 people, including a nine-year-old child and two police officers and 64 injured[55] [56] | ||
| Eldorado dos Carajás massacre | 1996 April 17 | Pará | 19 | Protesters for Landless Workers' Movement attempting to occupy a large private ranch were shot by military police. | |
| Invasion of the Cikel farm | 1996 June 11 | Buriticupu, Maranhão | 4 | [57] [58] [59] | |
| Sao Paulo State Sanitation Company Shooting | 1996 December 18 | Sao Paulo | 4 (including the perpetrator) | Marcelo Kenji Yoshino killed three people and wounded two others in Sao Paulo, before committing suicide.[60] | |
| Barreiros shooting | 1997 May 21–22 | Rio Grande do Norte | 15 (including the perpetrator) | 1 wounded | |
| Camarazal Massacre | 1997 June 9 | Nazaré da Mata, Pernambuco | 2 | Thirty gunmen attacked the Engenho Camarazal camp, in the city of Nazaré da Mata, Zona da Mata North of Pernambuco, shooting at landless rural workers camped in the area. Five workers were injured, including two children. Pedro Augusto da Silva and Inácio José da Silva, brothers-in-law, were murdered after being brutally tortured[61] [62] | |
| São José Liberto Prison riot | 1998 February 28 | Belém, Para | 3 | [63] [64] | |
| Caraguatatuba massacre | 1998 May 11 | Caraguatatuba, São Paulo | 3 | First massacre to occur in Caraguatatuba[65] | |
| Beco do Candeeiro Massacre | 1998 July 10 | Cuiabá, Mato Grosso | 3 | Three teenagers were shot to death by an unknown gunman.[66] | |
| Jaboticabal massacre | 1999 April 10 | Jaboticabal, São Paulo | 3 | The Worker Edson de Oliveira Lima kills three young people aged 10, 18 and 12.[67] [68] [69] [70] [71] | |
| 1999 Guarujá massacre | 1999 June 9 | Guarujá, São Paulo | 4 | Four men were shot dead in the Morro do Engenho favela, in Guarujá[72] | |
| Vida Nova School Massacre | 1999 October 6 | Vida Nova, Campinas, São Paulo | 3 | Four hooded men invaded a school in Campinas and killed 3 and injured 7[73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [80] [81] | |
| Morumbi Shopping shooting | 1999 November 3 | Vila Cordeiro, São Paulo | 3 | 4 wounded[82] [83] | |
| Salto massacre | 2000 August 25 | Salto, São Paulo | 5 | Five people, including three teenagers, were killed inside a house in downtown Salto[84] [85] | |
| Portuguese massacre | 2001 August 12 | Fortaleza, Ceara | 6 | A Portuguese immigrant lured six Portuguese businessmen with the promise of women; the perpetrators abducted the victims and beat them to death after drawing out 46 thousand reais from their credit cards.[86] [87] [88] [89] [90] [91] [92] | |
| Compaj massacre | 2002 May 25 | Manaus, Amazonas | 13 | [93] | |
| Bangu prison 1 riot | 2002 September 11 | Complexo Penitenciário de Gericinó, Gericinó, Rio de Janeiro | 4[94] -6[95] | between 4 and 6 inmates were murdered in the riot[96] | |
| Sigma School shooting | 2002 October 28 | Jaguaribe, Salvador, Bahia | 2 | A 17-year-old student identified as E. R., armed with an .38 revolver, shot Vanessa Carvalho Batista in the head, killing her instantly; he then fired shots at Natasha Silva Ferreira, both of them 15-year-old, seriously injuring her, in the Colegio Sigma. She then died at the hospital. The shooter said he did not have a good relation with the two girls, and said that they ridiculed him publicly.[97] [98] [99] | |
| Remanso shooting | 2004 February 4 | Remanso, Bahia | 2 | 17-year-old youth shot and killed 13-year-old Farlley Bastos Almeida, who had previously ridiculed him, and then forced a taxi driver to take him to a nearby EDP school. There he shot and killed 23-year-old Ana Paula Feitosa de Almeida and wounded two others before being subdued by two students. A woman, afraid of getting shot, jumped out of a window in the third floor and broke her legs. In custody the youth stated that he sympathized with Islamic terrorists and had intended to kill at least a hundred people.[100] | |
| Roosevelt Reservation Massacre | 2004 April 7 | Espigão d'Oeste, Rondonia | 29 | 29 prospectors were killed by Cinta Larga Indians after illegally entering the reservation.[101] [102] [103] | |
| Vertente do Lério massacre | 2004 August 12 | Vertente do Lério, Pernambuco | 4 | Four people are shot dead in Vertente do Lério[104] | |
| Sé killings | 2004 August 19–22 | São Paulo | 7 | Between 19 and 22 August, seven homeless people were beaten to death in the centre of São Paulo. Two military police officers and a private security guard were subsequently charged with the killings. However, the charges were dropped on grounds of insufficient evidence.[105] [106] [107] [108] [109] [110] [111] [112] [113] | |
| Parque Oeste massacre | 2005 February 16 | Goias | 2 | 40 wounded. Unknown missing. Over 20 killed in aftermath. Landless farmers occupying a large ranch were shot by police. | |
| Baixada massacre | 2005 March 31 | Baixada Fluminense | 29 | 2 wounded, A military police officer shot and killed dozens of Brazilians after forming a gang, and was sentenced to 543 years in prison. | |
| May Crimes | 2006 May 12–17; July 12–17 | São Paulo (state) and other parts of the country | 564[114] [115] | 110 wounded | |
| Coroa do Meio massacre | 2006 June 11 | Corona do Meio neighborhood, Aracaju, Sergipe | 3 | After a disagreement in a bar, 4 men shoot and kill three people and injure 1 in Corona do Meio neighborhood.[116] | |
| Complexo do Alemão massacre | 2007 June 27 | Rio de Janeiro | 19 | ||
| Ponte Nova Prison massacre | 2007 August 23 | Ponte Nova, Minas Gerais | 25 | Prisoners escaped and set fire to the cell of a group of rivals[117] [118] | |
| Arame massacre | 2009 April 8 | Arame, Maranhão | 6 | Six criminals are killed by police officers during attempted postal bank robbery in Arame[119] [120] [121] | |
| Rangel Killings | 2009 July 9 | Rangel neighborhood, João Pessoa, Paraíba | 5-7 | Five members of the same family, including a woman pregnant with twins, were murdered with a knife and sickle[122] [123] | |
| Uberaba massacre | 2009 October 3 | Uberaba neighborhood, Curitiba, Paraná | 8 | 2 wounded[124] [125] [126] | |
| Rio de Janeiro security crisis | 2010 November 21–28 | Rio de Janeiro | 41 | 4 wounded | |
| Rio de Janeiro school shooting | 2011 April 7 | Rio de Janeiro | 12 | 20 wounded. All children aged 10–13. | |
| Icoaraci Massacre | 2011 November 19 | Icoaraci, Belém, Pará | 6 | Six teenagers were murdered by an extermination group[127] [128] [129] [130] | |
| 2013 Coroa do Meio massacre | 2013 January 22 | Corona do Meio neighborhood, Aracaju, Sergipe | 2 | 2 wounded[131] [132] | |
| Pesseghini case | 2013 August 5 | Brasilândia, São Paulo | 5 | five members of the Bovo Pesseghini family were killed. | |
| Ouro Verde massacre | 2014 January 12–13 | Ouro Verde, Campinas, São Paulo | 12 | 12 people are killed in a series of murders committed by five former military police officers in an area of Ouro Verde, Campinas[133] [134] | |
| Cabula Massacre | 2015 February 6 | Cabula, Salvador, Bahia | 12 | Police execute twelve black boys and men with shots in the neck in the Vila Moises area, in the Cabula neighborhood, in the city of Salvador, 6 wounded[135] [136] | |
| Pavilion 9 Massacre | 2015 April 18 | São Paulo | 8 | Murder of eight members of the Fans organized Pavilion 9 of Corinthians by Three Armed Men[137] [138] [139] [140] [141] [142] [143] | |
| Costa Barros killings | 2015 November 28 | Costa Barros neighborhood, Rio de Janeiro | 5 | Murder of five young people by military police[144] [145] [146] [147] [148] | |
| Agricultural Penitentiary of Monte Cristo riot | 2016 October 16 | Boa Vista, Roraima | 25 | ||
| Campinas massacre | 2016 December 31 | Campinas, São Paulo | 13 (including a perpetrator) | 3 wounded, A man angry that his ex-wife left him went to a New Year's party his ex-wife's family was holding, and fatally shot her, her family, and his son. | |
| 2017 Manaus prison riot[149] | 2017 January 1 | Manaus | 56 | ||
| Military Police of Espírito Santo strike | 2017 February 4 – 25 | Espírito Santo | 215 | 215 people were killed in Espírito Santo during the violence | |
| Porto Seguro massacre | 2017 February 5 | Porto Seguro Bahia | 8 | 8 people killed and one injured by Nine gunmen[150] [151] | |
| Cunha porã murders | 2017 February 27 | Cunha Porã, Santa Catarina | 3 | Jackson Felipe Lahr stabs three sisters to death[152] [153] | |
| 2017 Santa Lúcia massacre[154] [155] [156] [157] | 2017 May 24 | Fazenda Santa Lúcia, Pau d'Arco, Pará | 10 | 17 military and civilian police shot and killed 10 farm-occupying activists associated with the Landless Workers' Movement. | |
| Janaúba massacre | 2017 October 5 | Minas Gerais | 14 | 37 wounded, A daycare security guard locked himself in a room with children between the ages of 3 and 7, doused fuel across the children and the room, and set the room alight. | |
| Goyases School shooting | 2017 October 20 | Goiânia, Goiás | 2 | 4 wounded | |
| Compensa massacre | 2017 December 12 | Compensa neighborhood, Manaus, Amazonas | 6 | Armed group opens fire on football field in Manaus and kills six[158] [159] | |
| Fortaleza Nightclub Shooting[160] [161] | 2018 January 27 | Cajazeiras, Fortaleza | 14 | 9 wounded | |
| Campinas Cathedral shooting | 2018 December 11 | Campinas, São Paulo | 5 (including the perpetrator) | 4 injured non-fatally | |
| Suzano school shooting | 2019 March 13 | Suzano | 10 (including the perpetrators) | Former students of a Brazilian school shoot up a car shop and then the school. 11 injured | |
| Belém bar shooting | 2019 May 19 | Belém, Pará | 11 | A group of heavily-armed men — riding on a motorcycle and in three cars — went on a shooting rampage at a bar in Brazil, killing at least 11 people on Sunday[162] [163] | |
| Amazonas prison massacres | 2019 May 26–27 | Amazonas | 55 | ||
| 2019 Altamira prison riot | 2019 July 29 | Altamira, Pará | 62 | 16 prisoners were beheaded, and a further 41 people died from inhaling smoke from a fire lit at the beginning of the riot.[164] | |
| Saudades massacre | 2021 May 4 | Saudades, Santa Catarina | 5 | An 18-year-old young man, Fabiano Kipper Mai, broke into a daycare center with a machete in hand, killing 2 teachers and three children, as well as injuring a fourth. The attacker tried to commit suicide by cutting his neck, but survived and was rushed to the hospital. | |
| 2021 Rio de Janeiro shootout | 2021 May 6 | Jacarezinho, Rio de Janeiro | 28 | 2 wounded | |
| Ceilândia killings | 2021 June 9 | Ceilândia, Federal District | 4 | The Serial Killer Lázaro Barbosa de Souza kills four members of a family in Ceilândia [165] [166] | |
| Vilhena massacre | 2021 October 13 | Vilhena, Rondônia | 5 | [167] [168] | |
| Varginha Massacre | 2021 October 31 | Varginha, Minas Gerais | 26[169] | 26 Suspected members of a Gang of Bank Robbers are killed in a Police Operation.[170] <[171] [172] [173] | |
| Sapiranga massacre | 2021 December 25 | Sapiranga, Fortaleza, Ceará | 5 | a group of hooded men shoot at a soccer field in the region of Sapiranga, in Fortaleza, leaving five dead and six injured.[174] [175] | |
| Gamboa Massacre | 2022 March 1 | Gamboa, Salvador, Bahia | 3 | Police kill three young black men in the Gamboa community in Salvador[176] [177] | |
| Vila Cruzeiro shootout | 2022 May 24 | Rio de Janeiro | 25 | 6 wounded | |
| 2022 Complexo do Alemão operation | 2022 July 2022 | Rio de Janeiro | 19 | ||
| Aracruz school shootings | 2022 November 25 | Aracruz, Espírito Santo | 4 | a 16-year-old neo-nazi former student opened fire at two schools in Brazil, killing four and injuring 12[178] | |
| Familicide in the Federal District | 2023 January | Federal District | 10 | Murder of 10 people from the same family between the end of December 2022 and mid-January 2023. | |
| Sinop massacre | 2023 February 21 | Sinop, Mato Grosso | 8 (including a perpetrator) | Two gunmen opened fire at a bar in Sinop, killing seven people, including a 12-year-old girl. | |
| Blumenau massacre | 2023 April 5 | Blumenau, Santa Catarina | 4 | 5 wounded[179] [180] | |
| Camocim massacre | 2023 May 14 | Camocim, Ceará | 4 | The Civil Police inspector Antônio Alves Dourado killed four colleagues at the Regional Police Station in Camocim[181] [182] [183] | |
| 2023 Salto Massacre | 2023 May 15 | Salto, São Paulo | 2 | The Military Police sergeant Gouveia kills two colleagues at the corporation's headquarters[184] [185] [186] | |
| Barra da Tijuca killings | 2023 October 5 | Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro | 3 | Three doctors died and another was injured in an attack committed by criminals who mistook one of the victims for militiaman Taillon Barboza[187] [188] | |
| Lajes massacre | 2024 September 7 | Lajes Village, Nossa Senhora Aparecida, Sergipe | 6 | Six people were shot dead in a car in the village of Lajes, in Nossa Senhora Aparecida, after an argument during a snooker championship.[189] [190] | |
| Heliópolis school shooting | 2024 October 18 | Heliópolis, Bahia | 4 (including the perpetrator) | A 14-year-old student Samuel Santana Andrade fatally shot three people before committing suicide.[191] [192] |