Eight Killed In Russian School Shooting

By Stefan J. Bos

Ambulances, ambulances, and security forces rushed to the school in Kazan city, 700 kilometers (430 miles) east of Moscow, where he killed his victims. Some people tried to comfort each other as the news sank in.

Rustam Minnikhanov, Governor of the Tatarstan republic, where Kazan is the capital, said four boys and three girls, all eighth-grade students, died in the shooting. Minnikhanov's press service later added that a teacher was also killed.

The governor also stressed that the 19-year-old gunman, who he called the terrorist, has been detained. However, his motives were not immediately clear.

The governor also confirmed that a firearm was registered in the name of the young man. He said that other accomplices haven't been established but that "an investigation is underway."

During the shootings, some students reportedly escaped, but many were trapped inside before Russian security forces could move in.

PUTIN SHOCKED

As the death toll rose, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to families of the victims in the latest school shootings shocking his nation. He ordered the government to assist the loved ones of the victims and the many injured, who he wished a speedy recovery.

And President Putin demanded that Victor Zolotov, head of Russia's National Guard, revise the regulations on types of weapons allowed for civilian use in light of the attack.

Authorities said additional security measures were immediately put into place in all schools in Kazan.

Russia's Emergency Ministry sent a plane with doctors and medical equipment to Kazan. Two leading officials, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko and Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov, also headed to the region.

While school shootings are relatively rare in Russia, there have been several violent attacks on schools in recent years. Some involved militants, but school shootings were mainly carried out by students themselves.