KAMPALA, Uganda – A horrific stabbing attack at a daycare center in Uganda’s capital has left four young children dead, police confirmed Monday. A suspect is in custody, but authorities say the motive remains unclear.
Police have identified the suspect as 39-year-old Okello Christopher Onyu. According to law enforcement, the man first came to the school several days ago asking for a placement for his child and was told to return on the day of the attack.
“It’s a very horrific incident here,” a police spokesperson said. “He came into the school some few days back asking for a placement for his child and he was told to come back today. Today when he came back, he appeared at the administrative block and was told to pay admission fee, which he did. But when he left the office, he entered the classroom where the children were and immediately started stabbing the children.”
The victims—one girl and three boys—were just two to three years old and died immediately, police said.
Following the attack, an alarm was raised, and community members gathered at the scene. Police reported that the crowd was extremely angry and wanted to lynch the suspect.
“People were very angry about what happened, and they wanted to lynch him, but the police whisked him away,” the spokesperson said. “There was a lot of tear gas that was fired to try and disperse the angry crowds.”
Responding officers managed to arrest the suspect at the scene. He is currently under interrogation as investigators work to establish his motive, background, and any other relevant circumstances surrounding the crime.
Questions Over School Safety
The incident has raised serious concerns about security protocols at schools and daycare centers across the country.
“This raises very serious questions about the safety of children in schools and how people who approach such premises are probably not checked at the gate,” a police official said. “The school says that he came in as a parent, and when someone appears at a school as a parent wanting a placement, they did not take very serious measures to check him for weapons.”
Parents are now demanding answers, and many are terrified that schools may no longer be safe places for their children. The facility has been described as a daycare center where children as young as two or three years old were taken while their parents went to work.
Rare Incident Shocks Community
Such attacks are highly uncommon in Uganda, and residents of Kampala have been left in shock.
“This was a very shocking event. Very uncommon in Uganda. I don’t think I’ve heard of such an incident happening in this country,” the spokesperson said. “People are very terrified. Everyone is still wondering what happened. No one knows whether the suspect was in his right state of mind.”
Police indicated that the suspect may be taken for medical examinations to determine whether he was mentally stable or had any relevant medical history regarding his mental state.
Authorities are expected to release another statement on the investigation in the coming days.