Izhevsk school shooting

{{Short description|2022 school shooting in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia}}

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = Izhevsk school shooting

| location = Pushkinskaya Ulitsa, 285, Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia, 426011{{cite web |script-title=ru:Очевидцы сообщают о стрельбе в школе №88 в Ижевске

|url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5581632|website=Kommersant|date=26 September 2022 |access-date=26 September 2022 |language=ru}}

| date = 26 September 2022

| image = Траурные мероприятия по погибшим в школе Ижевска в Алуште, 05.jpg

| image_size = 250

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| caption = Shrine for the victims in Alushta

| map = {{infobox mapframe|coord={{Coord|56|52|06.7|N|53|12|19.4|E|region:RU_type:event|}}|length_mi=0.26}}

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| coordinates = {{coord|56|52|06.7|N|53|12|19.4|E|region:RU_type:event|display=inline,title}}

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| type = Mass murder, mass shooting, murder–suicide, school shooting, shootout

| weapons = Two Makarov pistols

| fatalities = 19 (including the perpetrator)

| injuries = 23

| victims =

| perpetrator = Artyom Kazantsev

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| motive = Possibly misanthropy{{Cite news |title=Ненавидел людей и хотел прийти в детский сад. Что написал в предсмертной записке убийца из Ижевска |language=ru |work=StarHit |url=https://www.starhit.ru/life/nenavidel-lyudey-i-hotel-priyti-v-detskiy-sad-chto-napisal-v-predsmertnoy-zapiske-ubiytsa-iz-ijevska-287208/ |access-date=2022-09-26}}{{Cite news |title=Ижевский стрелок нанес на пистолетные магазины надпись "Ненависть!" |language=ru |work=News.ru |url=https://news.ru/regions/na-pistoletnye-magaziny-izhevskij-strelok-nanes-nadpisi-nenavist/ |access-date=2022-09-26}}

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On 26 September 2022, a mass shooting occurred at a school in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia.{{Cite news |date=2022-09-26 |title=Deadly gun attack at Russian school |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63032790 |access-date=2022-09-26}} Eighteen people were killed and twenty-three others were wounded before the gunman, identified as Artyom Kazantsev committed suicide.{{Cite news|date=2022-09-26|title=Swastika-wearing gunman kills 13 at Russian school|language=en |work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/gunman-opens-fire-school-russias-izhevsk-russian-media-cites-local-police-2022-09-26/|access-date=2022-09-26}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63032790|title=Deadly gun attack at Russian school|last=Thomas|first=Merlyn|work=BBC News|date=26 September 2022|access-date=26 September 2022}}

Events

The mass shooting occurred at School No. 88 ({{Langx|ru|Школа № 88}}) in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia{{Cite web |title=Man who started shooting in Izhevsk school committed suicide — Internal Affairs Ministry |url=https://tass.com/emergencies/1513413 |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=TASS}} at around 10:52 a.m.{{Cite web |title=Открывший стрельбу в школе Ижевска был ее выпускником (обновлено) / Погибли 9 и ранено 20 детей |url=https://ampravda.ru/2022/09/26/115993.html |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=ampravda.ru |date=26 September 2022 |language=ru}} Armed with two pistols and a large supply of ammunition, the gunman, Artyom Kazantsev, entered the school and opened fire, killing one of the guards and a cloakroom attendant and fatally wounding a cleaner. He then turned right and opened fire at the room in the end of the hallway, killing an art teacher and three first-graders, all aged 7. Kazantsev then came back to the entrance and went to the second floor, killing the second guard who had already reported the shooting and was on his way to warn the teachers on the upper floors. {{cite web |url=https://udm.aif.ru/incidents/nazhavshaya_trevozhnuyu_knopku_izhevchanka_rasskazala_kak_vstretila_kazanceva?ysclid=m90ddpwjwf292713614 |title=Нажавшая тревожную кнопку ижевчанка рассказала, как встретила Казанцева |lang=ru |website=udm.aif.ru |date=2022-09-28 |access-date=2025-04-02}}{{cite web |url=https://www.kp.ru/daily/27451/4654758/ |title=Специально сделал крюк, чтобы расстрелять учительницу ИЗО: страшные факты о болезни Артема Казанцева, устроившего стрельбу в школе в Ижевске|lang=ru |website=Комсомольская правда |date=2022-09-29 |access-date=2025-04-02}}{{cite web |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5581847 |title=Двести патронов ненависти |lang=ru |website=kommersant.ru |date=2022-09-26 |access-date=2025-04-02}}

On the second and the third floors the shooter burst through several classrooms and indiscriminately fired on those inside, killing three students aged 9, 10, and 11, along with a math teacher. According to a third-grader who witnessed the shooting, Kazantsev shouted "Bastards, where are you?" after leaving a classroom where children were hiding under the desks. The gunman then entered room 403 on the fourth floor, where he killed five students aged 14-15 and an English teacher before commiting suicide by shooting himself. 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.{{cite web |url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2022/10/01/pritselnaia-nenavist-media |title=Прицельная ненависть. Корреспонденты «Новой газеты» обнаружили странности в деле «ижевского стрелка» и попрощались с его жертвами на Хохряковском кладбище. |lang=ru |website=novayagazeta.ru |publisher=Novaya Gazeta |date=2022-10-01 |access-date=2025-04-02}} {{cite web |url=https://t.me/bazabazon/13471 |title=Школьница из Ижевска рассказала о пережитом нападении |website=Telegram |access-date=2025-03-28|lang=ru}}{{Cite web |last=Gigova |first=Anna Chernova,Radina |date=2022-09-26 |title=At least 7 children among dead after gunman opens fire at school in Russia |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/26/europe/izhevsk-school-shooting-russia-intl/index.html |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=CNN |language=en}}

Victims

{{quote box|Victims: {{cite web|url=https://xn--80adjngpthfr6l.xn--p1ai/news/%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BC-%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%BC/|title=Помним.Скорбим (We Remember. We Mourn)|website=скверпамяти.рф (Memorial Square)|access-date=2025-04-02|lang=ru}}

Students:

Dmitry Buldakov, 7
Alexander Kivamov, 7
Arina Urakova, 7
Kirill Baryshnikov, 9
Ilya Ovchinnikov, 10
Eva Knyazeva, 11
Vladimir Afanasyev, 15
Vyacheslav Babintsev, 15
Nikita Ipatov, 14
Vladislav Mokrushin, 15
Sofya Osotova, 15

Staff:

Nikolai Kiselyov, school guard, 73
Rinaz Zamalutdinov, guard, 60
Lyudmila Fedotova, cleaner, 67
Gulshat Rafikovа, cloakroom attendant, 40
Svetlana Sukhanova, art teacher, 53
Natalya Vedernikova, math teacher, 50
Margarita Sakharnykh, English teacher, 57

}}

Kazantsev killed eighteen people at the school. The victims include eleven students aged 7 to 15,{{Cite web |date=2022-09-27 |title=Лайф публикует полный список погибших и пострадавших при стрельбе в школе в Ижевске |url=https://life.ru/p/1526815 |access-date=2024-01-14 |website=Life.ru |language=ru}}{{Cite web |title=Ижевская трагедия — Код памяти |url=https://memorycode.ru/place/87877033 |access-date=2024-01-14 |website=memorycode.ru |language=ru}} two security guards, three teachers, a cloakroom attendant and a cleaner.{{Cite web |last=Gigova |first=Anna Chernova,Radina |date=2022-09-26 |title=At least 7 children among dead after gunman opens fire at school in Russia |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/26/europe/izhevsk-school-shooting-russia-intl/index.html |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=CNN |language=en}} Twenty-three people were wounded, including twenty-two children. The eighteenth victim, 67-year-old Lyudmila Fedotova, died on 8 November. {{cite news |title=Число погибших из-за стрельбы в ижевской школе увеличилось до 18 |url=https://www.vedomosti.ru/society/news/2022/11/08/949352-chislo-pogibshih-iz-za-strelbi-izhevskoi-shkole-uvelichilos-18 |access-date=5 December 2022 |work=Ведомости |date=8 November 2022 |language=ru}}

Eleven injured children became disabled as a result of the shooting. As of September 26, 2024, one of the victims shot in room 403 remained in critical condition. A bullet that entered boy’s head and exited through his temple left him paralyzed. Two years later, he still had not regained consciousness. {{cite web | url=https://udm.aif.ru/incidents/emergency/11-detey-ostalis-invalidami-vtoraya-godovshchina-tragedii-v-shkole-v-izhevske | title=11 детей остались инвалидами. Вторая годовщина трагедии в школе в Ижевске | date=26 September 2024 }}

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. The weapons used were found to be two traumatic pistols.{{Cite web |title=Russia school shooting by gunman with converted pistols and a shirt with "Nazi symbols" leaves at least 13 dead |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-school-shooting-gunman-converted-pistols-nazi-symbols-swastika-deaths-injuries/ |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=26 September 2022 |language=en-US}} It was also braided with key chains honoring Columbine massacre perpetrators, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.{{cite news|url=https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/world-news/2022/09/26/6331e94cca47415f7e8b45e3.html|title=Russian Neo-Nazi gunman was inspired by Columbine shooting|publisher=Marca|date=26 September 2022|accessdate=25 October 2022}}{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-10-06/columbine-eric-harris-dylan-klebold-russia-school-shooting|title=Column: The long reach of the Columbine killers' influence|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Nicholas|last=Goldberg|date=6 October 2022|accessdate=25 October 2022}}

Perpetrator

According to the Investigative Committee, the shooter was 34-year-old Artyom Igorevich Kazantsev,({{Langx|ru|Артём Игоревич Казанцев}}; born 29 January 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.{{Cite news |title=Стрельба в школе Ижевска: 13 человек погибли, из них семеро детей |language=ru |work=BBC News Русская служба |url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-63032260 |access-date=2022-09-26}}

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

During the shooting, Kazantsev had a baby monitor with him, one of which he installed on the first floor to hear the police and not get caught.

Kazantsev was brought to trial after a knife attack on two people on 7 December 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.{{Cite web |date=2022-10-06 |title=Напавший на ижевскую школу в 2008 году ранил ножом двух прохожих |url=https://www.interfax.ru/russia/866547 |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=Interfax.ru |language=ru}}

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. 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. {{citation needed|date=December 2024}} In preparation Kazantsev studied the actions of the operational services that stormed his predecessor shooters. {{cite web | url=https://t.me/vchkogpu/33288 | title=Вчк-Огпу }}

The killer legally bought empty clips from specialized stores four times. Investigators believe that he could have purchased ammunition illegally or using forged documents. {{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Employees are also discussing the issue of checking the decision of the magistrate of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Izhevsk, who several years ago, contrary to the conclusion of a psychiatric forensic examination, did not impose compulsory medical measures on the accused after causing harm to the health of two passers-by. At that time it was established that Kazantsev in 2007 opened his veins in a military unit in the Chelyabinsk region, where he served in military service.{{cite web | url=https://t.me/vchkogpu/33288 | title=Вчк-Огпу }}

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".

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

Words of condolences to the relatives of the victims and the injured were expressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin,{{cite web|title=Владимир Путин выразил глубокие соболезнования в связи с трагедией в Ижевске|url=http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/69436|website=kremlin.ru|date=2022-09-26|accessdate=2022-09-27|language=ru}} Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin,{{cite web|title=Михаил Мишустин выразил соболезнования в связи с трагическим происшествием в школе №88 Ижевска|url=http://government.ru/gov/persons/151/telegrams/46619/|website=government.ru|date=2022-09-26|accessdate=2022-09-27|language=ru}} and heads and representatives of the country's regions. Spontaneous memorials were organized in a number of cities of Russia and abroad.{{cite web|author=Игорь Бобров|title=Народный мемориал в память о жертвах трагедии в Ижевске появился в Москве|url=https://izhlife.ru/incidents/narodnyy-memorial-v-pamyat-o-zhertvakh-tragedii-v-izhevske-poyavilsya-v-moskve.html|website=IZHLIFE.RU|date=2022-09-26|accessdate=2022-09-27|language=ru}}{{cite web|title=В Ленинском саду Казани появился мемориал в память о погибших при стрельбе в школе №88 Ижевска|url=https://kzn.ru/meriya/press-tsentr/novosti/v-leninskom-sadu-kazani-poyavilsya-memorial-v-pamyat-o-pogibshikh-pri-strelbe-v-shkole-88-izhevska/|website=kzn.ru|date=2022-09-26|accessdate=2022-09-27|language=ru|archive-date=5 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205133559/https://kzn.ru/meriya/press-tsentr/novosti/v-leninskom-sadu-kazani-poyavilsya-memorial-v-pamyat-o-pogibshikh-pri-strelbe-v-shkole-88-izhevska/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Жители Петербурга несут цветы к мемориалу в память о трагедии в Ижевске|url=https://ria.ru/20220926/memorial-1819655954.html|publisher=РИА Новости|date=2022-09-26|accessdate=2022-09-27|language=ru}}{{cite web|title=В Беслане зажгли свечи в память о погибших в школе Ижевска|url=https://regnum.ru/news/society/3709196.html|website=REGNUM|date=2022-09-28|accessdate=2022-09-28|language=ru}}

The heads and representatives of foreign states and international organizations, including Chinese President Xi Jinping,{{cite web |date=2022-09-27 |title=Си Цзиньпин выразил соболезнования в связи с трагедией в Ижевске |url=https://rg.ru/2022/09/27/si-czinpin-vyrazil-soboleznovaniia-v-sviazi-s-tragediej-v-izhevske.html |accessdate=2022-09-28 |website=rg.ru |language=ru}} the United Nations,{{cite web |date=2022-09-26 |title=Глава ООН скорбит в связи с трагедией в Ижевске |url=https://news.un.org/ru/story/2022/09/1432431 |accessdate=2022-09-28 |publisher=ООН |language=ru}} the European Union,{{cite web |date=2022-09-26 |title=ЕС выразил соболезнования семьям погибших в Ижевске |url=https://tass.ru/obschestvo/15874897 |accessdate=2022-09-28 |publisher=ТАСС |language=ru}} the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,{{cite web |date=2022-09-26 |title=Каир выразил соболезнования в связи с трагедией в Ижевске |url=https://iz.ru/1401545/2022-09-27/kair-vyrazil-soboleznovaniia-v-sviazi-s-tragediei-v-izhevske |accessdate=2022-09-28 |website=iz.ru |language=ru}} and the U.S. Embassy in Russia{{Cite tweet|number=1574432343447724033|user=USEmbRu|title=Выражаем наши глубокие соболезнования родным и близким погибших в результате произошедшей сегодня утром ужасной трагедии в школе в Ижевске. Желаем скорейшего выздоровления пострадавшим.|author=Посольство США в РФ/ U.S. Embassy Russia|author-link=Embassy of the United States, Moscow}} expressed their condolences, as well as words of condemnation of the shooting.