Ilnaz Galyaviev

On 11 May 2021, a school shooting and bomb attack occurred in Kazan, Tatarstan, in the western part of Russia.

Nine people (seven 8th-grade students and two teachers) were murdered, and 23 others were injured.

The 19-year-old shooter, Ilnaz Galyaviev, was identified as a former student.

He pleaded guilty to the murder of two or more persons on 12 May and was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2023.

The mass shooting occurred at Gymnasia No. 175 (Гимназия № 175), a school in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia, which had 714 students and 70 employees present at the time.

Before the shooting, Ilnaz Galyaviev had visited the school unarmed, but was not allowed in.

At 9:24a.m. MSK (6:24 UTC), Galyaviev was stopped at the main entrance by a security system requiring a card.

Galyaviev opened fire when the school worker attempted to stop him from entering.

The wounded worker managed to press a panic button at 9:25, triggering an alarm in the school and alerting law enforcement.

The alarm alerted teachers in the building, allowing them to lock down their classrooms.

A radio communication was also sent out in the building, calling for teachers to close their classrooms.

Next, Galyaviev moved to different classrooms, which were closed due to the radio announcement, and shot at people in the halls, killing a teacher.

Galyaviev then set off an improvised explosive device near the first-floor English-language room before moving to the second floor, reloading his weapon in a bathroom and killed another teacher.

Galyaviev then moved to the third floor, going into classroom 310 and killing seven students.

Up to 17 shots were fired during the shooting.

Galyaviev then moved to different classrooms on the third floor, all of which were locked.

Galyaviev, now having run out of ammunition, attempted to leave the school, just as law enforcement arrived at 9:33.

The school was evacuated within twenty minutes.

Video footage inside and outside the school was posted to social media; it appeared to show students using classroom windows to escape, school corridors littered with personal belongings, and a man detained by police.

Firefighters rescued 23 people on the third floor of the school.

Nine people were killed during the shooting: seven were eighth-grade students and two were teachers.

One student of the school committed suicide in the aftermath of the shooting.

The injured were 20 students ranging from 7 to 15 years old and three adults.

At least seven wounded students were hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

A Ministry of Emergency Situations Ilyushin Il-76 transported nine injured, including five students, from Kazan to Zhukovsky.

After landing, the injured were transferred in ambulances to Moscow.

One student was put on an artificial ventilator after surgery.

Ilnaz Renatovich Galyaviev (Илназ Галәвиев; Ильназ Ренатович Галявиев; born 11 September 2001), a 19-year-old resident of Kazan, was detained.

Galyaviev graduated from Gymnasia No. 175 in 2017 and was expelled from the college of TISBI, a management academy in Kazan, in April 2021.

He had no previous criminal record.

On the morning of the shooting, Galyaviev posted a photo on Telegram of himself in a face mask with the word 'God' in Russian written on it, captioned, "Today I will kill a huge amount of biowaste and shoot myself."

Galyaviev had planned for the shooting to take place on 6 May.

However, a non-working day was declared by President Putin, which closed the school until 11 May.

A psychological and psychiatric mental evaluation of Galyaviev is planned which will take at least two months.

Galyaviev had previously sought mental health treatment and testing revealed some cerebral atrophy a year before the shooting, though he was not registered with a psychiatrist.

Relatives had also noticed an increase in Galyaviev's aggressive behavior.

However, while in court on 12 May, Galyaviev denied having any serious illnesses.

The Hatsan Escort PS Guard semi-automatic shotgun reportedly used by Galyaviev was officially registered on 14 April, two days after Galyaviev received a permit to carry weapons.

In addition, Galyaviev researched bomb recipes on the Internet.

He made two bombs, leaving one in his apartment and bringing the second to the school.