Steph Deschamps / September 26, 2022
At least 13 people were killed, including seven children, in a school shooting in Izhevsk, central Russia, the Russian Investigative Committee announced Monday, according to which the assailant committed suicide.
"According to preliminary data, 13 people, including six adults and seven minors, were victims of the crime, while 14 children and seven adults were injured," investigators said in a statement. The suspect was wearing a "black sweater with Nazi symbolism and a balaclava", added the same source, saying that "his identity is being established".
An earlier report by the Russian Investigative Committee stated that nine people were killed, including five children. The investigators also published a video showing the body of an individual lying on the ground, blood around his skull and wearing a black sweater with a red swastika on it.
Earlier, the Russian Ministry of the Interior had mentioned six victims and 20 injured. "The police have found the body of the man who opened fire. According to our information, he committed suicide," it added.
The website of the school indicates that it has nearly a thousand students and 80 teachers. The events took place in the morning in this city just west of the Ural Mountains, a mountain range that separates European and Asian Russia.
The city still houses factories that manufacture Kalashnikov assault rifles. According to Mr. Bretchalov, "an unidentified person entered the school" before "killing the guard" and opening fire inside the school.
"The evacuation is over" and "the entire perimeter is cordoned off", he had assured in his video, specifying that the Russian National Guard, FSB security services and "the authorities in charge of the investigation" were already on the spot. According to the Ministry of Health, "14 ambulance teams" are also on the site and "a group of doctors" will soon go to Izhevsk "to help the victims".
An investigation for "murder" and "illegal carrying of weapons" was quickly opened and transferred to the Investigative Committee of Russia, the country's main investigative body.