MOSCOW:
A deadly shooting at a school in the Russian city of Izhevsk on September 26, claimed the lives of at least 13 people, including seven students, while injuring several others, the country’s Investigative Committee has confirmed.
The incident took place in School No.88 in the city of about 650,000 residents located in the Urals region.
In a statement, the Committee said the gunman died of suicide and had been wearing a ski mask and a t-shit with Nazi symbols.
It added that his identity is being ascertained.
A local MP said that “the gunman was armed with two non-lethal pistols that had been altered to fire live ordnance”.
The school administration said students and teachers had been evacuated.
Russian media have posted videos which appear to show panic inside the building where the shooting took place.
Some footage shows blood on a classroom floor and a bullet hole in a window, with children crouching down underneath desks.
The victims also included two teachers and two security guards.
The head of the region has announced a mourning period until Thursday.
In May last year, a school shooting occurred in Kazan, Tatarstan, which claimed the lives of seven students and two teachers.
The 19-year-old shooter was identified as a former student. IANS