At least 13 people are dead and 21 others are injured after a gunman opened fire at a school in Izhevsk, the Udmurtia region’s capital in central Russia on Monday morning. The gunman was armed with two weapons and a large supply of ammunition at the time of the shooting. 7 children and six adults were killed. The 21 wounded include 14 children and 7 adults. Among those killed were the school’s security guard and two teachers. Russia’s Investigative Committee says the shooter was wearing a t-shirt with “Nazi symbols” during the attack. The gunman shot himself and died. No documents were found on him and the authorities worked to identify the man. Later is was identified as Artem Kazantsev, 34, a former student at the school and a local resident of Izhevsk.
“Investigators are currently conducting a search of his home to study the attacker’s identity and motives,” the Committee said. This is at least the second school shooting in Russia in the past two years. Izhevsk it one of Russia’s 20 most populous cities, best known as the home of the AK-47 rifle and the longtime residence of the Soviet lieutenant general credited with its development, Mikhail Kalashnikov. The governor of Udmurt Republic, Alexander Brechalov said that a period of mourning for the victims had been declared until Thursday.“President Putin deeply mourns deaths of people and children in the school, where a terrorist act took place,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told media. Russia has been working to improve security at schools in recent years.
