BRAZIL - Gunman kills 11 students

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP):

A gunman opened fire at a public elementary school in Rio de Janeiro yesterday, killing at least 11 students before taking his own life.

At least 18 other people, mostly students, were hurt and brought to local hospitals, said Rio state Health Secretary Sergio Cortes. At least four were in grave condition.

The dead included 10 girls and one boy, plus the gunman, Cortes said. The ages of the children were not immediately known. Police had said earlier that at least 13 people had died in the shooting.

A police spokeswoman told the AP that the gunman was identified as 23-year-old Wellington Oliveira, a former student at the Tasso da Silveira school, located in a working-class neighbourhood in western Rio. She spoke on condition of anonymity, saying that she was not authorised to discuss the matter.

A motive was not immediately known, but authorities said the shooter left a rambling and mostly incoherent letter at the scene indicating he wanted to kill himself.

Rio is a city rife with drug-gang violence in its vast slums, but school shootings are rare. The gunman had no criminal history, Police Chief Martha Rocha told a news conference.