A 14-year-old girl used a pump-action shotgun to kill one of her classmates and injure five other teens before taking her own life at a school in Russia on Thursday, officials said.
The deadly attack took place in the city of Bryansk around 200 miles southwest of Moscow. According to Russian state media, the girl’s motive for the attack is under investigation but law enforcement are treating some type of conflict with her fellow students as a “priority” in the investigation, according to TASS.
The news agency separately reported that authorities were first made aware of an emergency at the school at around 09:15 Thursday. The shooter—whose identity has not been officially confirmed—allegedly brought the firearm into the school in a tube and had a large knife hidden in her shoe. The shotgun used in the attack was legally owned by the girl’s father, according to State Duma Deputy Alexander Khinshtein.
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Officials said one of the victims died from their injuries. Local reports suggested that four others were hospitalized with gunshot wounds but they were in a “moderate condition.” A fifth survivor of the attack reportedly suffered serious injuries to his shoulder and knee and required urgent surgery.
Regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz called the attack a “terrible tragedy.”
“My sincere condolences to the parents of the girl who died at the hands of the shooter,” he wrote in a Telegram message. “This is an irreparable loss. The families of the dead girl and injured children will be provided with all necessary assistance.”
Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a murder case in response to the attack. The shooter’s father is also being questioned by authorities, with investigators reportedly asking about how the gun was stored at home, how his daughter may have taken it, and whether or not he taught her to shoot.
