Moscow, September 26 (BNA): A gunman opened fire in a school in central Russia on Monday, killing 13 people, including seven children, and wounding 21 others.
The Russian Investigative Committee said the shooting took place at School No. 88 in Izhevsk, a city about 960 kilometers (600 miles) east of Moscow in the Udmurtia region.
The Associated Press reported that the wounded were 14 children and seven adults.
The governor of Udmurtia, Alexander Prishalov, said in a video statement that the gunman shot himself.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the shooting as a “terrorist act” and said that President Vladimir Putin had given all necessary orders to the relevant authorities.
“President Putin deeply mourns the deaths of people and children in the school where a terrorist act took place,” Peskov told reporters on Monday.
The governor said the school educates children from first to eleventh grade. It was evacuated and cordoned off the surrounding area.
The investigation committee identified the gunman as 34-year-old Artyom Kazantsev, a graduate of the same school. It said in a statement that Kazantsev wore a black T-shirt with “Nazi symbols”. No details were revealed about his motives.
The Russian National Guard said that Kazantsev used two non-lethal pistols that were adapted to fire real bullets.
A criminal investigation has been launched into the incident, accusing him of multiple murders and illegal possession of firearms.
The city of Izhevsk, with a population of 640,000, is located west of the Ural Mountains in central Russia.