MOSCOW, RUSSIA
Nine people were killed and 19 injured in a school shooting in Kazan, capital of Russia’s republic of Tatarstan on Tuesday, President Rustam Minnikhanov announced.
The death toll included seven children — four boys and three girls — and two adults, one of them was a teacher.
The authorities said a 19-year-old Ilnaz Galyaviev, who graduated from school four years ago, opened fire. His motives remain unknown at the moment.
The eyewitnesses say he entered the school through the main entrance and immediately opened fire. His arms were found at the scene of the crime. The police say the arms were officially registered and that Galyaviev has an official permit for using them.
Earlier, the emergency services said there were two shooters, later the information was dismissed, the latest version is that the attacker acted alone.
He was arrested at the spot on charges of mass murder and will go through a psychiatric examination.
President Minnikhanov ordered to strengthen security measures in all schools, the lessons in the afternoon and on May 12 are canceled in all schools in the region.
May 12 announced a mourning day in the Republic of Tatarstan after the incident in its capital Kazan.
The Russian President Vladimir Putin offered condolences to the relatives of victims and injured and instructed of urgently toughening the rules of gun control in Russia.
Health Minister Mikhail Murashko is flying to Kazan with a group of doctors specializing in gunshot wounds to personally control the medical treatment.
The Russian Federal Investigative Committee announced it takes the investigation under control.
