Two dead and five injured in school shooting in Bryansk

A school shooting in the city of Bryansk, 400 km southwest of Moscow, on Thursday morning has left two dead, including the shooter, and five injured, according to regional authorities.

“According to preliminary data, a 14-year-old girl brought a pump-action rifle into school, and fired at her classmates. Two people were killed (one was the shooter herself) and five were injured in the incident. They are receiving treatment,” the Bryansk authorities said in a statement.

The Bryansk Investigative Committee has launched a criminal investigation. The father of the shooter has been brought in for questioning, state-owned news agency TASS reported, citing police.

“The eighth-grader brought a shotgun and hunting knife to school,” the Telegram channel Mash wrote, posting a photo of her body in black sportswear and the knife in her shoes.

Russian media group RBC, citing a pupil, reported that the shooter had been bullied by her classmates.

The Governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, called the incident a terrible tragedy.

“We are looking into how the pupil was able to obtain and smuggle the weapon into school,” he said on his Telegram channel. 

“My sincere condolences to the parents of the girl who died at the hands of the shooter. This is an irreplaceable loss. The families of the deceased girl and injured children will be given all necessary assistance.”