“Dies Irae”: Chilling Notebook Reveals 18-Year-Old’s Years-Long Obsession and Regret for Postponing Calama School Attack
The Chilean Investigative Police (PDI) discovered a notebook belonging to Hernán Cristóbal Meneses Leal, the 18-year-old perpetrator of the fatal attack against his 59-year-old school inspector, María Victoria Reyes Vache, at the Obispo Silva Lezaeta Institute in Calama.In the notebook, the young attacker expressed deep regret for having postponed the violent act for so long. He meticulously detailed his obsession with mass attacks, which had begun when he was only 9 years old, describing his plans with absolute coldness and emotional detachment.
The notes reveal that the assailant had already attempted to carry out a similar act back in 2015 but backed out at the last moment. At that time, he referred to himself as a “hero” for having spared a life.The document also includes disturbing diagrams stained with blood and clearly confirms that the March 27, 2026 attack was meticulously planned over an extended period — according to investigators, for at least four months.
The notebook, titled “Dies Irae” (Latin for “Day of Wrath” or “Day of Anger”), outlines his motivations linked to hatred, misanthropy, and disdain for capitalism and adult life. Initially, he considered targeting first-grade children, describing them as “pure” and “easy targets” to “free them” from the suffering and isolation of growing up. He later modified the plan to attack as many people as possible inside the school before ending his own life.
The writings show a cold, calculated approach: he evaluated different scenarios, set a deadline of May 15 for the act if not carried out earlier, and explicitly stated that he did not intend to survive the event. Additional items found during the search of his home, including knives inscribed with references to past massacres, further supported the premeditated nature of the assault.This shocking discovery has provided authorities with key evidence of the long-term planning behind the incident, which left one person dead and several others seriously injured, sending waves of horror through the educational community in Calama and across Chile.
