Funerals held for 9 victims of Russian attack
No motive yet from 19-year-old suspect
MOSCOW — Relatives wept and hugged as the nine people killed in a school shooting in the Russian city of Kazan were buried Wednesday, which was declared a day of mourning in the predominantly Muslim republic of Tatarstan.
A huge pile of flowers grew at a makeshift memorial outside School No. 175 in the city 430 miles (700 kilometers) east of Moscow where the gunman opened fire on Tuesday, sending students diving under their desks, running from the building or even jumping from windows on upper floors. He also detonated a homemade bomb.
In addition to the seven students and two employees who died, another 23 people remained hospitalized from the attack at the school, which enrolls children from the first to 11th grades.
At the funeral of Elvira Ignatieva, a 26-year-old English teacher, relatives and friends hugged each other and cried as she was laid to rest.
“She loved children,” said her uncle, Talgat Gumerov, speaking to reporters in a quavering voice after the burial, which was carried out the day after her death in accordance to Islamic tradition.
Investigators gave no motive as to why Ilnaz Galyaviyev, 19, who was arrested in the shooting, carried out the attack at his former school. He appeared in court Wednesday, charged with murder, and was ordered to pretrial detention for two months. Officials said he legally owned a firearm.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the head of the country’s National Guard to revise firearms regulations for civilians.
But independent media pointed out that hardly any measures tightening control over gun ownership have been implemented since Putin gave a similar order three years ago after 21 people died in a school shooting in the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that Putin’s new task is a good reason to look into how old orders are being implemented.
Russian media said the gunman had called himself “a god” on the messaging app Telegram and promised to kill a “large amount” of people on Tuesday morning.
Rustam Khairullin, the imam of a mosque, had sons aged 9 and 14 at the school. The 9-year-old was hospitalized with wounds to his chest and arm from an explosive set off by the attacker.
The older son, Akhmad, who was in a classroom targeted by the attacker, was unhurt.
“We heard an explosion, ran to the window and saw two classes running,” the youth said. “In two or three minutes, the bandit came to our class. The teacher took the first blow and then he started shooting at children.”
Attacks on schools are rare in Russia. The deadliest school attack in Russia took place in 2004 in the city of Beslan, when Islamic militants took more than 1,000 people hostage for several days. The siege ended in gunfire and explosions, leaving 334 dead, more than half of them children.