15-Year-Old Kills 10-Year-Old Student in Moscow-Area School Knife Attack

A 15-year-old student has stabbed and killed a 10-year-old pupil during a violent attack at a school in the village of Gorki-2, west of Moscow, Russian investigators said on Tuesday, December 16.

Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed that the suspect, identified as Timofey K, was detained at the scene. Authorities said the teenager initially planned to kill a mathematics teacher but, after failing to locate her, turned his attack on students.

According to investigators and Russian media reports, the ninth-grade student entered the school wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest marked with extremist slogans, including neo-Nazi symbols and the phrase “No Lives Matter.” He allegedly bypassed metal detectors, changed clothes inside the school, and spent several minutes searching for a substitute maths teacher he believed had repeatedly humiliated him.

During the rampage, the attacker reportedly questioned students about their nationality, pepper-sprayed a security guard who attempted to stop him, and assaulted a staff member. He then chased a 10-year-old boy through the school and stabbed him multiple times. The child later died from his injuries. Authorities believe the victim was the son of a school cleaner.

Investigators said the teenager recorded parts of the attack on his phone and took a selfie after the stabbing. Other students barricaded themselves inside classrooms, while more than 100 children fled to a nearby sports complex for safety.

Armed police units stormed the school and arrested the suspect. An object resembling an improvised explosive device was later discovered inside the building.

Police said the teenager had written an 11-page manifesto prior to the attack, which he distributed to classmates. The document reportedly expressed hatred toward society and divided people by nationality and religion. Social media posts linked to the suspect showed extremist imagery, including references to far-right terrorists and slogans associated with white supremacist ideology.

The suspect has reportedly pleaded guilty, according to state news agency TASS. The attack comes just one day after a separate stabbing incident in St Petersburg, where a teacher was critically injured by a student, raising renewed concerns about school safety and youth radicalisation in Russia.