Four children were killed and four others were injured in an ax attack at a kindergarten in the southern Brazilian city of Blumenau, writes CNN..

According to local police, the dead - three boys and a girl - were between 5 and 7 years old..

Jorginho Mello, governor of the state of Santa Catarina, tweeted that a suspect had been detained..

A police officer told CNN Brazil that the 25-year-old suspect jumped over the wall in the playground of the Cantinho Bom Pastor day center and then attacked the children.

He fled after teachers spoke out in defense of the children, and then, according to the official, contacted the police..