At least 12 people, mostly children, were killed and more than 20 injured in a shooting at a Russian school in the southwestern city of Kazan, Russian media reported, citing local emergency services.
Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency reported that at least 16 people – 12 children and four adults – were hospitalised after the attack on Tuesday, RIA reported, citing the President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov.
Two children could be seen leaping from the third floor of the four-storey School Number 175 as gunshots sounded, in a video filmed by an onlooker that was circulated by RIA.
According to the Interfax news agency, two gunmen opened fire in the school.
Footage posted on social media showed a young man being pinned to the ground outside the school building by a police officer.
It was not clear whether any other shooters remained at large.Footage also showed emergency service vehicles parked outside the school, with people running towards the building.
Authorities said additional security measures have been put into place in all schools in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan region, which is roughly 700 kilometres (430 miles) east of Moscow.
School shootings are rare in Russia.
One of the last major shootings of its kind took place in Russian-annexed Crimea in 2018 when a student at a college killed 19 people before turning his gun on himself.