At least thirteen people have been killed and 20 wounded after a gunman wearing “Nazi symbols” opened fire at a school in Russia.
Artem Kazantsev burst into the school in Izhevsk before firing on students and school staff on Monday.
At least seven children were killed following the horrific attack. Other victims include two teachers and two security guards.
The gunman later killed himself, authorities added. The school has been evacuated and the area around it has been fenced off.
The assailant is believed to have been wearing a balaclava and black tee-shirt with Nazi symbols during the attack. The motive of the shooting is unclear.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, released a short video showing the gunman on the floor of a classroom with overturned furniture and papers strewn. He was dressed in all black, with a red swastika on his top.
Mr Kazantsev is a former pupil who graduated from the school, authorities said.
“Currently investigators ... are conducting a search of his residence and studying the personality of the attacker, his views and surrounding milieu,” the committee said in a statement. “Checks are being made into his adherence to neo-fascist views and Nazi ideology.”
Reports claim that the attacker was armed with two pistols and a large supply of ammunition.
Izhevsk, a city of 640,000, is located west of the Ural mountains in central Russia, about 596 miles east of Moscow.
Russia has experienced several school shootings in recent years.
In May 2021, a teenage gunman killed seven children and two adults in the city of Kazan.
In April 2022, an armed man killed two children and a teacher at a kindergarten in the central Ulyanovsk region before committing suicide.
