At least eight students and a teacher have been killed in a gun attack in a school Kazan, Russia. Reports also claim that 16 people have been injured and are being treated in hospitals.
The incident occurred at a high school in the central Russian city of Kazan. According to preliminary information, two unidentified people are said to have opened fire, reported TASS news agency. Meanwhile, RIA Navotsi agency stated that a teenager has been arrested in this regard. Reports also claim that another gunman may have taken students and hostage and might be holed up inside the school. But this news about hostage situation is not confirmed.
Terrorist Attack?
Governor of the Tatarstan republic, Rustam Minnikhanov, spoke to reporters and said that the 19-year-old terrorist [referring to the shooter] had been detained. "The terrorist has been arrested, (he is) 19 years old. A firearm is registered in his name. Other accomplices haven't been established, an investigation is underway," Minnikhanov said after visiting the school.
The video of the incident has been posted on social media. It can be seen that at least two people jumped from a third-floor window of the school. Currently, security around the school has been tightened. In fact, additional security has been provided to all educational institutions in Kazan.
According to the Russian media, there were two gunmen and one of them was stationed on the fourth floor, and was shot by security services. Currently, dozens of ambulances have lined up in front of the school.
Earlier, RIA Novosti news agency had said that at least 11 people were killed in the incident. But currently it is confirmed that nine people have been killed, but exact number of casualties is not known yet.
Shooting incidents in Russia are not a common phenomenon. A major incident was reported in 2004 when more than 330 people were killed in an assault in Beslan in North Caucasus. This was declared as an act of Islamist separatists. In another incident, a teenage student shot a teacher and a police officer after taking 20 of his classmates hostage in Moscow in 2014.
