By: Haley S - @haleyyunfiltered (IG)
Luiz Henrique de Castro was one of the two shooters in the Suzano massacre. Compared to his accomplice, we know very little. Due to this, determining a clear motive is increasingly more difficult. Unlike their inspirations, the Columbine perpetrators Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, we only have detailed knowledge of the massacre's “mastermind” Guilherme Taucci Monteiro. In this article I will be sharing what we do know about Luiz and why it isn’t much.
Luiz Henrique de Castro
Miguel Castro and Maria J. A. de Castro welcomed their youngest son into the world on March 16th of 1993 in the city of Suzano, a municipality of São Paulo. He had two older brothers, ages 40 and 42. Also living with the family, the boy's grandfather.
How he spent his childhood isn’t very clear apart from his education history. Castro would attend five schools in his lifetime, all in Suzano. From about age 7 to 10, he studied at E.E Antonio Rodrigues de Almeida, 11 to 14 at the school he would eventually turn into a crime scene and die at, E.E Prof. Raul Brasil. This was also the school where he repeated the eighth grade three times. E.E Professora Leda Fernandes Lopes when he was 15, and E.E Lucy Franco Kowalski. Through the EJA program he attended high school from age eighteen through nineteen at E.E Batista Renzi. EJA, or Education of Young (people) and Adults in English, serves to educate people who for various reasons couldn’t attend high school at the correct age. It’s a close equivalent to a GED. At twenty-two he got his driver's license, applied for jobs with no luck, and had aspirations to work as a police officer like his father did formerly. One could say his fathers background with the law caused him to be more cautious in the planning of the massacre. He achieved normal things for his age, leaving nobody to suspect his darker capabilities.
He had a relatively simple life and enjoyed average hobbies.
“He really liked video games, he played soccer,” César Expedido recalls of his friend. Not incredibly active on social media, he did have a Facebook and Twitter (X) account. His Twitter (X) (@LZHRDC) is still up today, but empty beside the profile photo and banner he also used on Facebook. His Facebook showed interest in rock music, guns, Russia and even anime. He never had much interest in girls. It never caused high concern, but his family and neighbors would describe him as shy, polite, but naive. According to his father, he was said to be mentally closer to Taucci’s age.
Taucci and Castro were neighbours, being childhood friends despite their eight-year age gap. Due to having a “weak mind”, the loyalty he demonstrated to Taucci was able to be taken advantage of. The two would talk by a tree that grew between their houses, always exchanging greetings with neighbors. This is where some of the uncertainty on his motives originate.
Theories And Possible Explanations
Between the two, most discussions about the massacre were face to face. About three weeks before the massacre, Castro rented the car they’d use for the attack. It’s said they spent hours in the car talking up until the massacre. Between having a small circle and discrete online presence we can only assume suspicions, which many have done. Online many use these uncertainties to overlook Castro’s participation and his desire to commit violent acts.
Investigators report the planning began around a year before the crime, so we can say March 2018. Castro would have been 24/25, and Guilherme 16. While he was said to be mentally younger than his actual age, he still was required to function at the proper age. Have a job, responsibilities, and work towards a good future. Meanwhile Taucci had much more freetime and less demanding responsibilities. It is also important to mention the differences between Castro and Taucci’s families, which affect the way they make decisions. As previously mentioned, Castro comes from a stable two parent home where he grew up with all of his siblings. Whom he could look up to and receive guidance from.
Meanwhile Taucci had a mother struggling with addiction, participating in prostitution and an absent father. Raised by his grandparents, he was the oldest of the two sisters he lived with, aged 7 and 9 at the time of the massacre. However, they were just half of the siblings he had in total. There is no question his grandparents loved and cared for him, doing their best to give the boy and his sisters all they could, but the dysfunction of his family certainly caused a divide in how the two boys were raised.
It is very hard to believe someone who could strike both alive and deceased human bodies with an axe, is anything less than disturbed. Likely he was just as disturbed as Taucci but advertised it less. Castro worked with his father cleaning and maintaining the city center. A typical 9 to 5 type of job that because of family, he easily got. It paid the equivalent of about $260 a month. All of this is to say he didn’t have as much free time as Taucci did. He didn’t have time to spend all day posting dozens of tweets contradicting himself about the Brazilian government or the time to take photoshoots of himself wearing a skull mask, giving the middle finger, and pointing a gun at the screen.
Many of the things which caused anger in Taucci didn’t apply to Castro, such as bullying, or a parent with an addiction. Taucci’s grandfather reported both of these things bothered the boy. Although this anger wasn’t made public, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. Being easily influenced, it’s likely that between their close friendship and Taucci’s warped, pessimistic view on life and the future, ideas entered Castro’s mind. His lack of objection to anything also shows he had a desire to participate. Even with his naivety, he was 25 years old and capable of making decisions on his own. Considering Castro was the one who purchased everything, spending a whopping one thousand dollars, he was well committed.
When we take a look at the CCTV footage from March 13th, we see someone with zero regard to human life. Arguably, his role in the massacre could be labeled as more gruesome. With a gun, Taucci stood feet away from his targets. There is a lack of relationship between killer and victim here. On the contrary, using a hatchet like Castro did, he had to be less than a foot from the victim. Listening to them plead for mercy, scream, and fight for their life. It takes an indescribable amount of desire to do so.
Taking into account one survivor's story, Rhyllary Barbosa dos Santos used her background in jiu-jitsu to fight off Castro. As the 15-year-old ran from the commotion outside, she found herself in his path. In the video you can see a disorganized Castro rummaging through his backpack as the girl runs into the corridor. Acting quickly, he got up and grabbed the girl, punching her as she begged him to stop. It took her only a few seconds to free herself from his grasp. However, moments later a large group of students ran through the same corridor as he randomly swung at anyone he could with a hatchet. One of the injured students who got away was rushed to the hospital where he would be treated, the hatchet stuck and still remaining inches in his shoulder.
These are not the actions of a completely manipulated and otherwise levelheaded individual.
[Marêssa Diva | Arquivos Suzano]. (2022, February 22). Luiz Henrique de Castro | Informações e Curiosidades [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/DsWV4PdsiEI?si=Z_XD_tjhz20DLtjR
[Globo Play]. (2019, March 13). Amigo fala sobre Luiz Henrique de Castro, um dos assassinos da escola em Suzano [Video]. Globo. https://g1.globo.com/sp/sao-paulo/sp2/video/amigo-fala-sobre-luiz-henrique-de-castro-um-dos-assassinos-da-escola-em-suzano-7452978.ghtml
(I’ve recounted the information to the best of my ability but if you have any sources related to my post, please let me know.)