Death toll rises to 17 after Russia school shooting

• A brutal shooting took place on Monday at a school in Russia.
• There are 17 dead and 24 injured.
• Several of the injured will have to be transferred to the capital to receive medical attention.

MASS SHOOTING AT RUSSIAN SCHOOL. Authorities raised the final number to 17 dead and 24 wounded after the brutal shooting that took place this Monday at a school in Russia. Local authorities confirmed that several of the injured are in critical condition.

The Russian Investigative Committee reported that, on Monday, September 26, an armed man entered a school in the city of Izhevsk, 960 kilometers from the capital, firing with flare guns, modified so that they could use live ammunition. He later committed suicide.

Death toll rises to 17 after Russia school shooting

In a preliminary report there was talk of at least 14 dead and 21 wounded, but the authorities had left open the possibility that the number could increase. Indeed, it has. Now they count 17 dead and 24 wounded, many of whom are in critical condition.

The authorities indicated on Tuesday that fifteen people injured in the shooting will be evacuated to Moscow. According to Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Health, 13 injured children and two adults, of whom two are in critical condition, will be transferred to the capital for treatment.

One of the deadliest shootings in Russia’s history

Although shootings inside schools are rare in Russia, they have been happening more frequently in recent years. Monday’s shooting at School 88 in the city of Izhevsk is already one of the deadliest ever recorded in the country.

The local government of Udmurtia indicated that among the 17 people killed in the shooting were 11 children, two teachers, two security guards and two other adults whose role in the school is unknown. The Russian Investigative Committee added that of the 24 people injured, 22 are children.

About the shooter

The Russian Investigative Committee identified the assailant as Artyom Kazantsev, a 34-year-old man who was a graduate of the same school he attacked. They also stated that the man was wearing a black T-shirt with «Nazi symbols». They are still investigating what his motivations for attacking may have been.

The National Guard said the attacker had used two flare guns that had been adapted to fire live bullets and that these weapons were not registered. Furthermore, Alexander Brechalov, Governor of Udmurtia, revealed that Kazantsev was a patient in a psychiatric clinic.

The president says it was a terrorist act

For his part, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin, described the shooting as «a terrorist act» and commented that Russian President Vladimir Putin had already issued instructions to deal with the case. «President Putin deeply regrets the death of people and children at the school, where a terrorist act took place,» Peskov said.

At School 88 in the city of Izhevsk there are 80 teachers who teach classes to 982 students ranging from the first to the 11th grade. A video circulates on social networks in which the dead shooter can be seen in a classroom. ATTENTION: STRONG IMAGES. SEE VIDEO HERE.