A Russian schoolgirl has shot dead a classmate – and injured five others – before killing herself, local authorities have said.
The 14-year-old girl walked into her school in Bryansk, in western Russia, close to the Ukrainian border, with a shotgun registered in the name of her father, according to local authorities.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said the teenager killed one of her classmates and that it was looking into a motive.
Regional governor Alexander Bogomaz described the shooting as a “terrible tragedy”. He said the five people wounded were all children with minor or moderate injuries. “The families of the killed girl and injured children will be provided all the necessary assistance,” Mr Bogomaz said on the messaging app Telegram.
Two 14-year-old boys were wounded during the incident, with at least one being airlifted to Moscow, according to local reports. Alexey Kuznetsov, Russia's deputy health minister, said one victim was undergoing surgery, without specifying details.
The girl’s father has been taken for questioning as a witness, the state-run RIA Novosti said. Investigators want to ask him how his daughter came into possession of a gun, the Telegram channel Shot reported.
Russian children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova said she was overseeing the care of the injured children— (Sputnik)
The presidential children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova said on her Telegram channel that she was overseeing the care of the injured children.
In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Ms Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes, accusing them of responsibility for the abduction of children from Ukraine.
There have been several school shootings in Russia in recent years.
In September 2022, a gunman opened fire in a school in central Russia, killing 17 people and wounding 24 others before shooting himself dead.
In April 2022, a man killed two children and a staff member at a kindergarten also in central Russia.
In May 2021, a man opened fire at students at his former high school in the Russian city of Kazan, killing nine people including seven children.
In 2018, an 18-year-old student in Russian-occupied Crimea killed 20 people in a mass shooting at a college.
