At Least 15 Killed in Russian School Shooting

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Facts

  • At least 15 people, including 11 children, were killed in a school shooting in Izhevsk, a city about 600 miles from Moscow, on Monday. At least 24 people were injured in what was one of Russia’s most deadly school shootings ever.
  • Details on the gunman’s identity and motive are emerging. Russian officials named Artem Kazantsev - an alumnus of the school - as the shooter.
  • The attacker, who killed himself at the scene, was shown in a video wearing all black and a shirt with a red swastika drawn on it.
  • Russian President Putin, through a spokesperson, said he “grieves in connection with the deaths of people and children” at the school. He also characterized the shooting as a “terrorist act” carried out by a person who “belongs to a neofascist organization or group.”

Sources: BBC News, CNN, NBC, and ABC.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by RT. This tragic shooting was an isolated act of terrorism by a single actor who was very likely motivated by neo-Nazi ideology. More details will undoubtedly emerge as the investigation unfolds.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The Guardian. This appears to be a systemic, rather than an isolated problem. Once rare, school shootings in Russia have increased in recent years, including a tragic incident in Russian-occupied Crimea in 2018. Russian authorities would be wise to investigate why there’s been an uptick in this type of violence rather than viewing this shooting as an outlier.