Russian school shooting described as ‘terrorist act’ leaves 15 dead, 24 wounded; suspect wore ‘Nazi symbols’
A mass shooting at a Russian school Monday left 15 people dead, including 11 children, in an act allegedly carried out by a former student wearing “Nazi symbols,” authorities said.
The shooting at School No. 88 in Izhevsk left 24 other victims wounded, with officials identifying the gunman as Artyom Kazantsev, who they say killed himself following the massacre.
The rampage began with Kazantsev reportedly killing two security guards before turning to students and teachers, officials said.
Twenty-two of the wounded victims were children, Russia’s Investigative Committee said. Footage released by authorities showed a red swastika drawn onto the suspect’s shirt.
Police and paramedics work at the scene of a shooting at school No. 88 in Izhevsk, Russia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022.
“Currently investigators ... are conducting a search of his residence and studying the personality of the attacker, his views and surrounding milieu,” the Investigative Committee said. “Checks are being made into his adherence to neofascist views and Nazi ideology.”
Kazantsev fired a pair of unlicensed, nonlethal handguns that had been altered to shoot real bullets, according to the National Guard. Authorities said the suspect came equipped with a large amount of ammunition.
Alexander Brechalov, the governor of the Udmurt Republic, said the suspect was a patient at a psychiatric facility. The governor also said surgeons needed to perform multiple operations after the shooting.
Funeral workers carry a body of victim at the scene of a shooting at school No. 88 in Izhevsk, Russia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022.
Authorities haven’t released a motive for why Kazantsev allegedly attacked the school, which serves students in the first through 11th grades. Izhevsk, the capital city of Udmurtia, is 600 miles from Moscow. None of the victims were publicly identified by name or age.
Authorities handling the case received orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“President Putin deeply mourns deaths of people and children in the school, where a terrorist act took place,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.
In this handout image taken from video released by the Russian Investigative Committee, ammunition is seen on a table at the scene of a shooting at school No. 88 in Izhevsk, Russia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022.
Monday’s incident follows a shooting last year in which a student killed at least six people at a university in Perm, Russia. Then in April, a man killed a teacher and two kids at a kindergarten in the country’s Ulyanovsk region.
With News Wire Services
