A knife attack near Suriname’s capital, Paramaribo, has left at least nine people dead, including five children, police confirmed on Sunday.
Authorities said the victims included the suspect’s children as well as neighbors who tried to intervene. Reports from local media indicated that the victims were found at several nearby homes.
The incident occurred in Richelieu, a community in the Commewijne district, about 25 kilometers east of Paramaribo. According to neighbors, the attack followed a phone argument between the suspect, a 43-year-old man, and his wife, from whom he was separated.
Witnesses said the violence began after the man’s wife refused to personally collect their children, saying she would send someone else instead. The suspect allegedly attacked his children and then assaulted neighbors inside their homes.
In a statement, the Suriname Police Corps said officers were also confronted by the suspect when they arrived at the scene. He was injured during his arrest and is currently receiving treatment in a hospital.
Police added that another child and one adult sustained serious injuries and are being treated at a hospital in Paramaribo.
President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons expressed her condolences in a message posted on Facebook, stating that the attacker took the lives of his children and neighbors.
“I wish the bereaved families strength, resilience, and comfort during this extremely painful time,” she wrote.
Suriname, a former Dutch colony and the smallest independent country in South America with a population of about 600,000, has historically recorded low homicide rates. However, data from the think tank Insight Crime shows that the country’s murder rate rose sharply in 2024, reaching 30 killings per 100,000 people.
