Seven children and a teacher have been reprted killed in a shooting at a school in the Russian city of Kazan.
Reports over the number of deaths varied, but officials said at least seven children had died. Many more were wounded and taken to hospital.
A teenager was detained after the attack at the school, located some 820km (510 miles) east of Moscow in the mainly Muslim republic of Tatarstan.
Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov described the shooting as a “tragedy”.
Responding to the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would review Russia’s gun control laws.
School shootings are relatively rare in Russia. One of the last major incidents happened in Russian-annexed Crimea in 2018.
The shooting happened at School No. 175 on Tuesday. Heavily armed police and emergency vehicles responded to the incident.
Footage shared on social media showed some children jumping from windows to escape as well as injured people being evacuated. Russian TV reported that two of the children died after jumping from a second-floor window.
Armed police arrived at the school and then sealed off the fourth floor, reports said
A student who witnessed the attack described what happened to Russian news website Mediazona.
“Everyone started panicking and saying ‘shut the doors’. About a minute later the head teacher started yelling: ‘We’re shutting the doors!’
“We got out about 15 minutes later, not out of the windows. I wanted to do that, but the teacher closed the window immediately and said no,” he said.
Reports initially said that there were two gunmen and that one of them had been killed. But officials later said there was only one suspect.
Mr Minnikhanov said the victims included four male and three female eighth-grade students. His press service later added that a teacher was also killed.
He told reporters outside the school that, in addition to the fatalities, 12 children and four adults were being treated in hospital. Six children are said to be in a critical condition.
“The terrorist has been arrested. He’s 19. He’s a registered firearm owner,” he said.
One video on social media captured a teenager lying on the ground apparently being detained outside the building.
CULLED FROM BBC
