On February 3, 2014, 15-year-old high school student Sergey Gordeyev (russian: Сергей Гордеев; also spelled Sergei Gordeev) opened fire at School No. 263 in Otradnoye District,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

,Sukhov, Oleg and Matthew Bodner.
First-Ever School Shooting Prompts Debate on Security
" ''

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...

''. February 3, 2014. Retrieved on March 22, 2014. "Police officers evacuating children from School No. 263 in the Otradnoye district in northeast Moscow on Monday after a shooting at the" killing a teacher. Gordeyev then took 29 students hostage, killed one police officer, and injured another. Later on, he surrendered to the authorities. It is the second reported

school shooting A school shooting is an attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of firearms. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shootings due to multiple c ...

in Russia's modern history.

Shooting

At around 11:40 A.M., Gordeyev, concealing his weapons with a bag and fur coat, went to his school armed with a small-caliber rifle and shotgun that belonged to his father, a police

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

. He threatened the security guard and went to his geography classroom, where he shot his teacher, 29-year-old Andrey Kirillov (russian: Андрей Кириллов), first in the stomach, then fatally shot him in the head upon seeing he was still alive. After killing Kirillov, he then took the class of 29 students hostage. Gordeyev then shot at responding police officers in the school, wounding Warrant Officer Sergei Bushuyev, 38, and Senior Sergeant Vladimir Krokhin, 29; Bushuyev later died at the scene, while Krokhin survived a gunshot wound to the shoulder. About an hour after the shooting first started, the Special Forces responded to the scene. Gordeyev initially called his mother before the Special Forces called in his father to negotiate with him. He initially spoke with Gordeyev on the phone for fifteen minutes before being brought into the school with a bulletproof vest to personally talk to him; thirty minutes afterward, Gordeyev released the hostages. At around 1:00 P.M., Gordeyev surrendered to authorities and was captured. A Russian report stated that a total of eleven shots were fired by Gordeyev during the shooting.

Victims

Two people were killed in the shooting, while a third was wounded. The victims were: *Andrey Kirillov, 29 (teacher, killed) *Warrant Officer Sergey Bushuyev, 38 (policeman, killed) *Senior Sergeant Vladimir Krokhin, 29 (policeman, wounded)

Perpetrator

15-year-old Sergey Gordeyev (born October 4, 1998) was identified as the perpetrator of the shooting. He attended School No. 263, had a very good reputation, which was due to an excellent school record. He was described as a "model student" who sets up "an example for the whole school". Two possible motives were given. According to the first, which was later rejected, Gordeyev opened fire from revenge against the geography teacher who was trying to interfere with his planned graduation with honors – and Kirillov was fixed upon as the teacher Gordeyev had conflicts with. Another version suggested that Gordeyev had an emotional disorder, yet he had had no previous apparent conflicts with either teachers or fellow pupils, although some described him as "strange". Sergei Gordeyev believed in the theory of

solipsism Solipsism (; ) is the philosophical idea that only one's mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known a ...

—that the only life that truly existed was his own—and considered other people to be an illusion. Gordeyev's initial plans were to come to school, tell his classmates about his thoughts, and shoot himself, but he chose to shoot the geography teacher because "no one believed that he would shoot." A medical examination confirmed that Gordeyev has symptoms of

paranoid schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...

. The court sentenced him to involuntary treatment in a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...

. Later, the court also obliged the parents of Gordeyev to pay a certain sum of money in support of the son of the killed teacher.

Reaction

Politician Irina Yarovaya mentioned that the event might be linked to violent video games and recommended tighter gun control. Politician

Aleksey Pushkov Aleksey Konstantinovich Pushkov ( rus, Алексе́й Константи́нович Пушко́в; born 10 August 1954) is a Russian politician who has been Senator from Perm Krai since 29 September 2016. He is also a former Deputy of the Sta ...

suggested exposure to American culture might be to blame. Moscow Mayor

Sergey Sobyanin Sergey Semyonovich Sobyanin (russian: link=no, Сергей Семёнович Собянин; born 21 June 1958) is a Russian politician, serving as the 3rd Mayor of Moscow since 21 October 2010. Sobyanin previously served as the Governor of ...

later stated that schools in

have been set to be reviewed for security. At a meeting with theater workers,

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

said that such tragedies might be prevented by placing a greater emphasis on culture in children's upbringing, such as the theatrical arts.

References

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Shooting

Victims

Perpetrator

Reaction

See also

References