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Russia: 2 dead, several injured in school shooting

Published December 7, 2023last updated December 7, 2023

Police say a teenager in the city of Bryansk shot dead a classmate and wounded five others before killing herself. Russia has strict gun laws, but school shootings there have become more common in recent years.

https://p.dw.com/p/4ZrmM
Emergency services respond to a school shooting in the western Russian city of Bryansk
Investigators are working to establish a motive for the shootingImage: Nadezhda Mikheyeva/TASS/dpa/picture alliance

A 14-year-old girl shot and killed a classmate and wounded five others before killing herself at a school in the western Russian city of Bryansk, investigators said Thursday.

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.

What do we know so far?

"According to preliminary investigation data, a 14-year-old girl brought a pump-action shotgun to school, from which she fired shots at her classmates," Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement.

The statement said there were two fatalities (one of which was the shooter) and five people with injuries.

Investigators were working to determine a motive, the statement said.

Bryansk is one of several Russian regions that have seen cross-border attacks in the course of the war with Ukraine, and where Moscow has encouraged the formation of self-defense units.

There have been several school shootings in Russia in the past few years. The last major school shooting in Russia occurred in September 2022, when a man opened fire at a school in the city of Izhevsk. The attack killed 15 people, including 11 children, and wounded 24.

dh/nm (AFP, Reuters)