Izhevsk school shooting

2022 school shooting in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia

Izhevsk school shooting

Part of mass shootings in Russia

Shrine for the victims in Alushta

Location| Pushkinskaya Ulitsa, 285, Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia, 426011[1]
Coordinates| 56°52′06.7″N 53°12′19.4″E﻿ / ﻿56.868528°N 53.205389°E﻿ / 56.868528; 53.205389
Date| 26 September 2022

Attack type

| Mass murder, mass shooting, murder–suicide, school shooting
Weapons| Two Makarov pistols
Deaths| 19 (including the perpetrator)
Injured| 23
Perpetrator| Artyom Kazantsev
Motive| Mental disorder, misanthropy[2][3]

On 26 September 2022, a mass shooting occurred at a school in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, in west-central Russia.[4] Eighteen people were killed and 23 others were wounded before the gunman, identified as Artyom Kazantsev, committed suicide.[5][6][7]

## Events[edit]

The mass shooting occurred at School No. 88 (Russian: Школа № 88) in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia[8] at around 10:52 a.m.[9] Armed with two pistols and a large supply of ammunition, the gunman, Artyom Kazantsev, entered the school and opened fire on several classrooms. Throughout the shooting, he burst through several classrooms and indiscriminately fired on those inside. The gunman then entered an empty classroom and shot himself in the head. Videos of the aftermath were posted by the investigative committee, which included images of the interior of the school and Kazantsev's body lying on the floor of the classroom.[10][6]

## Victims[edit]

Kazantsev killed 17 people at the school. The victims include 11 students aged 7 to 15 years, two security guards, two teachers, and two other adults.[10] Twenty-four people were wounded, including 22 children.[5][6] One of the injured, a 67-year-old woman, died on 8 November, increasing the death toll to 18.[7]

## Investigation[edit]

Investigators searched Kazantsev's residence and probed reports of his potential neo-fascist and neo-Nazi ideology after reports emerged that he was involved in a neo-fascist organization or group.[10] The weapons used were found to be two "traumatic" pistols, a form of non-lethal firearm used by law enforcement that had been converted to fire live ammunition and obtained illegally.[11] It was also braided with key chains honoring Columbine massacre perpetrators, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.[12][13]

## Perpetrator[edit]

According to the Investigative Committee, the shooter was 34-year-old Artyom Kazantsev,[9] born in 1988, a native of Izhevsk and a former student of the school. It was reported that he was wearing a T-shirt with Nazi symbols and a balaclava. According to the Head of Udmurtia Aleksandr Brechalov, Kazantsev was registered as an outpatient at a mental health facility with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.[14]

According to an email written by Kazantsev 20 minutes prior to the shooting, the attack was not a terrorist incident.[9]

Kazantsev was brought to trial after a knife attack on two people on December 7, 2008, when he stabbed a teenager he did not know in the back and, 20 minutes later, stabbed a woman in the back and shoulder. The case was heard by a justice of the peace. The forensic psychiatric examination found that the defendant was in a state of insanity at the time of the crimes. The court considered that Kazantsev was not subject to criminal liability, since he committed a crime of minor gravity, causing slight harm to the health of the victims, and in May 2009 issued a decision to close the criminal case and to refuse to apply coercive medical treatment.[15]

## Reactions[edit]

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov described the attack as "a terrorist act by a person who apparently belongs to a neo-fascist organisation or group".[5]

Aleksandr Brechalov, the head of the Udmurt Republic, declared three days of mourning.[11]

Words of condolences to the relatives of the victims and the injured were expressed by Russian president Vladimir Putin,[16] Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin,[17] and heads and representatives of the country's regions. Spontaneous memorials were organized in a number of cities of Russia and abroad.[18][19][20][21]

The heads and representatives of foreign states and international organizations, including Xi Jinping,[22] the United Nations,[23] the European Union,[24] the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,[25] and the U.S. Embassy in Russia[26] expressed their condolences, as well as words of condemnation of the shooting.

## See also[edit]

* Crime portal
* Russia portal
* Schools portal

* List of mass shootings in Russia
* Neo-Nazism in Russia
* Columbine effect

## References[edit]

1. ^ Очевидцы сообщают о стрельбе в школе №88 в Ижевске. Kommersant (in Russian). 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
2. ^ "Ненавидел людей и хотел прийти в детский сад. Что написал в предсмертной записке убийца из Ижевска". StarHit (in Russian). Retrieved 26 September 2022.
3. ^ "Ижевский стрелок нанес на пистолетные магазины надпись "Ненависть!"". News.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 26 September 2022.
4. ^ "Deadly gun attack at Russian school". BBC News. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
5. ^ a b c "Swastika-wearing gunman kills 13 at Russian school". Reuters. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
6. ^ a b c Thomas, Merlyn (26 September 2022). "Deadly gun attack at Russian school". BBC News. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
7. ^ a b "Число погибших из-за стрельбы в ижевской школе увеличилось до 18". Ведомости (in Russian). 8 November 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
8. ^ "Man who started shooting in Izhevsk school committed suicide — Internal Affairs Ministry". TASS. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
9. ^ a b c "Открывший стрельбу в школе Ижевска был ее выпускником (обновлено) / Погибли 9 и ранено 20 детей". ampravda.ru (in Russian). 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
10. ^ a b c Gigova, Anna Chernova,Radina (26 September 2022). "At least 7 children among dead after gunman opens fire at school in Russia". CNN. Retrieved 26 September 2022.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
11. ^ a b "Russia school shooting by gunman with converted pistols and a shirt with "Nazi symbols" leaves at least 13 dead". www.cbsnews.com. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
12. ^ "Russian Neo-Nazi gunman was inspired by Columbine shooting". Marca. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
13. ^ Goldberg, Nicholas (6 October 2022). "Column: The long reach of the Columbine killers' influence". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
14. ^ "Стрельба в школе Ижевска: 13 человек погибли, из них семеро детей". BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). Retrieved 26 September 2022.
15. ^ "Напавший на ижевскую школу в 2008 году ранил ножом двух прохожих". Interfax.ru (in Russian). 6 October 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
16. ^ "Владимир Путин выразил глубокие соболезнования в связи с трагедией в Ижевске". kremlin.ru (in Russian). 26 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
17. ^ "Михаил Мишустин выразил соболезнования в связи с трагическим происшествием в школе №88 Ижевска". government.ru (in Russian). 26 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
18. ^ Игорь Бобров (26 September 2022). "Народный мемориал в память о жертвах трагедии в Ижевске появился в Москве". IZHLIFE.RU (in Russian). Retrieved 27 September 2022.
19. ^ "В Ленинском саду Казани появился мемориал в память о погибших при стрельбе в школе №88 Ижевска". kzn.ru (in Russian). 26 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
20. ^ "Жители Петербурга несут цветы к мемориалу в память о трагедии в Ижевске" (in Russian). РИА Новости. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
21. ^ "В Беслане зажгли свечи в память о погибших в школе Ижевска". REGNUM (in Russian). 28 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
22. ^ "Си Цзиньпин выразил соболезнования в связи с трагедией в Ижевске". rg.ru (in Russian). 27 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
23. ^ "Глава ООН скорбит в связи с трагедией в Ижевске" (in Russian). ООН. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
24. ^ "ЕС выразил соболезнования семьям погибших в Ижевске" (in Russian). ТАСС. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
25. ^ "Каир выразил соболезнования в связи с трагедией в Ижевске". iz.ru (in Russian). 26 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
26. ^ Посольство США в РФ/ U.S. Embassy Russia [@USEmbRu] (26 September 2022). "Выражаем наши глубокие соболезнования родным и близким погибших в результате произошедшей сегодня утром ужасной трагедии в школе в Ижевске. Желаем скорейшего выздоровления пострадавшим" (Tweet) - via Twitter.