Two children and a teacher have been killed at a nursery school in Russia after a man opened fire before turning the gun on himself, local media reports.
Police officers and paramedics rushed to the school in the Ulyanovsk region to the west of the country following reports of a shooting.
The man opened fire inside the nursery, killing two children and a nanny before turning the gun on himself, Tass reported.
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A source told the news agency that a domestic conflict may have been behind the shooting, although this has not been confirmed by law enforcement agencies.
The governor of the region, Aleksey Russkikh, is due to fly to the site of the tragedy and has ordered emergency assistance be given to the families of those killed, the Mirror UK reports.
Baza, a Telegram channel with purported links in Russia’s security services, shared unconfirmed reports that the man was armed with an Izh-27 double-barreled shotgun.
The identity of the gunman is not known, although some online reports have claimed that the gun was owned by a 68-year-old man.
People on the scene have said that the gunman appeared to be much younger than this, Moscow Times reports.
Baza has reported that authorities are struggling to identify the gunman due to his injuries.
A video taken at the scene shows paramedics providing assistance to several people outside the nursery building.
A woman can be heard crying in distress.
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