A 15-year-old teenager has been arrested after a violent rampage at an elite Moscow school, which resulted in the fatal stabbing of a 10-year-old pupil and was fuelled by neo-Nazi ideology.
The Attack Unfolds
On Tuesday, Timofey K., a ninth-grader, entered the Uspenskaya Secondary School in the Gorki-2 district of the Russian capital. According to reports, he bypassed security metal detectors in the morning and changed into combat gear in a restroom. His attire included a helmet and a bulletproof vest marked with extremist slogans, including 'No Lives Matter' and other neo-Nazi symbols.
Armed with a knife, the teenager entered a classroom and recorded himself holding the weapon. He then began asking terrified students about their nationality before embarking on his attack. His initial target was reportedly his substitute maths teacher, Maria Dmitrievna, whom he could not find after an eight-minute search.
A Tragic Chase and Death
After failing to locate the teacher, the situation escalated rapidly. When a security guard, Dmitry Pavlov, attempted to intervene, he was pepper-sprayed. The attacker then chased a 10-year-old boy through the school corridors, shouting racial slurs. The victim, said to be the son of a school cleaner, was stabbed three times and later died from his wounds.
In a horrifying twist, the assailant reportedly recorded the entire attack on his mobile phone and took a selfie with the child's body. Meanwhile, more than 100 pupils barricaded themselves in classrooms or fled to a nearby sports complex for safety.
Extremist Ideology and Arrest
The attack was deeply rooted in far-right extremism. Prior to the rampage, Timofey K. had posted on social media, showing himself performing a Nazi salute. His helmet bore the number '2083', a direct reference to the manifesto of Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik. Other messages linked to the 2022 Buffalo massacre and the Christchurch attacker, Brenton Tarrant.
Police confirmed he had written an 11-page manifesto expressing hatred for society and dividing people by nationality and religion, which he distributed to classmates. Following the stabbing, armed SWAT officers stormed the school and arrested the teenager. During a sweep, they found an object resembling an improvised explosive device (IED) inside the building.
The 15-year-old, described as previously quiet and a recent truant, has pleaded guilty to the charges. This horrific incident occurred just one day after a separate, non-fatal stabbing of a teacher by a student in St Petersburg, raising serious concerns about youth violence in Russian schools.
