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]
| Izhevsk school shooting | |
|---|---|
 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 |
| Date | 26 September 2022 |
Attack type | Mass murder, mass shooting, murder–suicide, school shooting, shootout |
| Weapons | Two Makarov pistols |
| Deaths | 19 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 23 |
| Perpetrator | Artyom Kazantsev |
| Motive | Mental disorder, misanthropy[2][3] |
Events
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 a final classroom on 4th floor, killed several students 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
Kazantsev killed 17 people at the school. The victims include 11 students aged 7 to 15,[11][12] 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
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.[13] It was also braided with key chains honoring Columbine massacre perpetrators, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.[14][15]
Perpetrator
According to the Investigative Committee, the shooter was 34-year-old Artyom Igorevich Kazantsev,[9] (born January 29, 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.[16]
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.[17]
The law enforcers were forbidden to publicize Artyom Kazantsev's manifesto. He deleted everything from his computer and left a message there, in a file called Manifesto, he wrote that he wanted to kill his mother. Admittedly, he changed his mind, as this could have derailed his global plan to attack the school. In the text, he criticizes and expresses hatred towards power and state bodies, specific political and cultural figures, as well as gives his assessment of the events. It is curious that in preparation Kazantsev studied the actions of the operational services that stormed his predecessor shooters. At the same time, we are talking not only about clips in the media, but also about professional parsing of colleagues on specialized platforms [1]
Reactions
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.[13]
Words of condolences to the relatives of the victims and the injured were expressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin,[18] Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin,[19] and heads and representatives of the country's regions. Spontaneous memorials were organized in a number of cities of Russia and abroad.[20][21][22][23]
The heads and representatives of foreign states and international organizations, including Chinese President Xi Jinping,[24] the United Nations,[25] the European Union,[26] the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,[27] and the U.S. Embassy in Russia[28] expressed their condolences, as well as words of condemnation of the shooting.
