A man has killed two children, a teacher, a pensioner and himself after opening fire at a nursery school in Russia, according to local media reports.
Police officers and paramedics rushed to the school in the Ulyanovsk region in the west of the country following reports of a shooting.
A man, identified in Russian media as Ruslan Akhtyamov, 26, had opened fire inside the nursery, killing two children and a nanny before turning the gun on himself, Tass reported.
The young victims are understood to be named Vladimir, five and Ekaterina, six.
"He opened fire in the room where the children were sleeping," a source told the news agency, before claiming that a second member of staff received a gunshot wound to the arm.
Before Akhtyamov rushed into Ryabinka nursery he had shot and killed his neighbour Alexander Dronin, 68, a hunter.
According to local reports slain teacher Olga Mitrofanova had attempted to stop the gunman entering the room where the children were sleeping.
Teacher Elena Karpova was also injured in the attack.
The governor of the region, Aleksey Russkikh, is due to fly to the site of the tragedy and has ordered emergency assistance be given to the families of those killed.
He said: "I express my deep condolences to the families and friends of the victims. This is an irreplaceable loss for all of us."
Baza, a Telegram channel with purported links in Russia’s security services, shared unconfirmed reports that the man was armed with an Izh-27 double-barreled shotgun.
Akhtyamov lived on the same street as the Ryabinka kindergarten.
Early reports suggested that the gun he wielded was owned by a 68-year-old man.
"According to preliminary information, the gun belonged to another person - not to the one who fired," regional vice-governor Alexander Korobko said.
Baza had reported that authorities had been struggling to identify the gunman due to his injuries.
A video taken at the scene shows paramedics providing assistance to several people outside the nursery building.
A woman can be heard crying in distress.
The incident happened in the town of Veshkaima, which has a population of around 6,000 people.
The tragedy just under a year since one of the worst mass shootings in Russian history, when seven students and two teachers were murdered in a school in Kazan, Tatarstan.
The 19-year-old shooter, Ilnaz Galyaviev - who was identified as a former student - also detonated a bomb.
He pleaded guilty to the murder of two or more people the day after the killings took place.
