A 19-year-old gunman opened fire in a school in the Russian city of Kazan Tuesday morning, killing nine people, including seven students.
The gunman entered the school Tuesday morning and killed nine people, seven of them children, reported The Associated Press.
BREAKING: Russian state media reports that 8 students and one teacher have been killed in a school shooting in Kazan. https://t.co/DLv5bA1Z0z
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 11, 2021
Tatarstan health officials said that 21 people, including 18 children, were injured during the attack and have been hospitalized. Six of them were said to be in “severely grave condition,” according to The Associated Press.
Russian media reported that while some students were able to escape, others were trapped inside, The Associated Press reported. (RELATED: Male Student In Custody Following School Shooting That Left Three Injured)
Governor of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov said that four boys and three girls, all eighth grade students, were killed. A teacher and another school worker also died, according to The Associated Press.
Witnesses said that there was an explosion just before the attack within the school, leading children to jump out of windows to escape, reported CNN.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered condolences to the families of those killed and a speedy recovery to the wounded, The Associated Press reported.
The incident is the region’s deadliest school shooting since the 2018 massacre at Kerch Polytechnic College in Crimea, which killed at least 17 students, according to NBC News.
Minnikhanov stated that the shooter “has been arrested,” and a police investigation “is underway” to find any potential accomplices, reported The Associated Press.