Russian President Vladimit Putin has called for stricter gun control measures after a mass shooting in Kazan which killed seven school children.
A young man who reportedly wentberserk after not being invited to a birthday party opened fire in a school in the Russian city of Kazan, killing seven children and injuring over a dozen others.
The 19-year-old shooter was subsequently detained by the country’s law enforcement officers.
The suspect burst into a school and opened fire at those inside. Several children jumped out of the school window to try and escape, but seven of them and at least two adults weren’t as lucky and were fatally shot.
Those who passed include four boys, three girls, a teacher, and a female school worker at School No 175.
The children were believed to be in the 8th grade, around 15 years old.
A Russian TV channel reported that two of the children died after jumping from a second-floor window.
Eighteen children and three adults are currently being treated in several hospitals for gunshot wounds, fractures, and bruising from trying to escape the incident.
The tragic attack began at 09:20 AM local time, and the panic button at the school was pressed about five minutes later.
Amid the tragic school shooting, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences to the families of the victims.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the president also asked the head of the National Guard of Russia, Viktor Zolotov, to come up with gun control measures that would regulate weapons owned by civilians.
The attack took place in Tatarstan, 820 kilometers east of Russian capital Moscow. Dozens of medics and police officers reported to the scene, where people were hysterical.
According to reports, the suspect went on social media before the attack, claiming he would kill a “huge number” of people before killing himself. He was detained outside the school building before he could do that.
Gun control is a sensitive topic in many countries around the world, but the rise in civilian shootings has also been alarming these past couple of years.
These shootings, often targeting highly-populated areas such as shopping malls and schools, have claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people not only in Russia but also in other countries in the world.
In the Philippines, the government is fortunate that despite the proliferation of loose firearms, there has been nary incidents of mass shootings in vulnerable areas such as schools, churches and shopping malls. (MO)
Tags: #Russia, #massshooting, #guncontrol