Schoolgirl Sets Fire, Hits Classmates with Hammer

On Wednesday, 4 February, an eighth-grade girl from Krasnoyarsk School No. 153 brought acetone and a hammer. She set fire to a restroom and a math classroom where a lesson was in progress. Students who ran out of the classroom were hit with a hammer. As a result, five students and a teacher were injured. The girl«s motives are still not fully clear: information about whether she was bullied by classmates varies. Journalists from NGS24.RU visited the scene and spoke with students — details in the report.

Just a Flash

— I thought it was some kind of dream. Just a flash — and I thought it was a dream or actors burst into the classroom and put on some kind of show, — holding back emotions, a student from School No. 153 (Kompleks Pokrovsky) in a sleeping district on Lineinaya Street tells NGS24.RU correspondent.

The teenager stands in the cold near the school in mismatched shoes — one black, one white. He lost his shoes when he ran out of the classroom. On the afternoon of 4 February, his 14-year-old classmate Lena (name changed) set a fire in the building. According to the boy, she burst into the algebra lesson and threw what he thought was a cocktail.

— The fire quickly spread across the entire classroom and began to surround us. We were stuck, not knowing where to go. In the end, we just ran out of the class, — recalls Lena«s classmate.

Another student says that his female classmates saw a fire in a toilet stall and immediately ran out. Screams were heard of the second floor.

— And we see a girl running with a hammer. In black fingerless gloves. She«s running, already near me, and we run away and go outside. We stand and watch the firefighters arrive, police, medics, — he describes.

The girl, according to data from Shot, stood in the classroom doorway and hit children trying to escape the fire with a hammer. At the cries of «Help, help!» a math teacher ran into the hallway and saw a wounded student. After the fire alarm went off, children began to be evacuated.

— I just grab the children in an armful and we run out, — one of the teachers briefly described the moment to a correspondent.

Another student in conversation with NGS24.RU added that there was a «crush at the turnstiles, and a very strong one»:

— Many people panicked. Everyone [first] thought it was just a fire. … I was sitting in the next room. It was very scary, actually… I had a phobia when I was in fifth grade. Well, when the guy in Kazan came and shot something. I had a direct phobia that we would be attacked the same way…

Later, security forces reported that the girl brought a flammable substance (acetone) to school, started a fire in the restroom, then lit a rag and threw it into the algebra classroom. The fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived. According to the latest data, three students received burns and were taken to the burn center. One student had 40% of his body affected, according to an NGS24.RU source, the other two about 15%. Judging by photos, the teenager«s back was burned. They are in stable but serious condition.

Two other schoolgirls and one teacher had injuries apparently from hammer blows. They were taken to Hospital No. 20: one girl in moderate condition, the other in satisfactory condition, she refused hospitalization.

Investigators opened three criminal cases: attempted murder, negligence of preventive agencies, and unsafe security services. Lena and her family, according to Krasnoyarsk police, were not registered with preventive agencies, and the schoolgirl was described positively. At the school in Pokrovsky she studied in the second shift.

The prosecutor«s office added that an inspection has been launched to find out exactly why the 14-year-old girl did this.

She was a quiet girl

— Nobody touched her at all, — assures NGS24.RU correspondent Lena«s classmate in mismatched shoes. — She was normal in elementary school, but now she stopped communicating with everyone, sat alone, that»s it.

A student from another class also says that the girl was not teased or bullied and that «she was just a quiet girl, nobody harassed her, didn»t do anything«.

— She just had no friends, she didn«t talk to anyone, — he echoes.

School principal and homeroom teacher also said that there was no bullying. However, other information soon emerged. An eighth-grader told TASS that the girl might have been harassed and «there was information that she was bullied for some time, definitely since September.»

Lena«s older sister directly stated to Telegram channel Baza that the girl was bullied for her appearance and clothes — she felt lonely and sometimes came home from school in tears. In the last two months, the schoolgirl distanced herself from her parents. The family did not know about the girl»s plans to attack the school and classmates.

At the same time, it emerged that the day before the attack, in the evening, Lena allegedly conducted a poll in some chat about «who she would like to eliminate». Answer options — «history teacher» and «chemistry teacher». At least, such a message was forwarded by a girl«s classmate to the eighth-graders» chat. But the author«s account has already been deleted.

The Interregional Center for Children«s Rights added that the regional Ministry of Education had previously issued a warning to the management of the »Kompleks Pokrovsky« school »for ignoring bullying«. In December, the center reported a video of a second-grader beating up a peer while a teacher »calmly watched from the side«.

Krasnoyarsk Mayor Sergey Vereshchagin «ordered a detailed analysis [of the incident] as part of a comprehensive inspection», including assessing the actions of school staff and «not avoiding the topic of bullying». Krasnoyarsk region Education Minister Tatiana Gridasova added that «bullying at school is a serious problem that many children face». The governor ordered a check on how schools carry out prevention with students, and teachers will undergo training.

Also planned is a check of school security. As NGS24.RU correspondents noted, there are turnstiles at the entrance, and entry is via cards. According to information from Kontur.Zakupok, in 2025, 11.7 million rubles ($128,700 at current rates) were allocated for school security, and for 2026 — 14.7 million rubles ($161,700 at current rates).

At the same time, students told Kras Mash that the school was guarded by «grandmas and grandpas» and that apparently no one reacted to the metal detector. According to Mayor Vereshchagin, the guard who was on duty on 4 February was fired.

— We will investigate, check the security company at this school, and in principle the level of security in institutions. Especially since we allocate significant funds for this, — Sergey Vereshchagin told NGS24.RU.

«The whole school didn»t catch fire«

About two hours after the incident, around 16:00, the school grounds seemed calm. Students stood in small groups and alone, discussing the fire and attack carried out by the «quiet girl» from their school.

A very young schoolgirl consoled her mother on the phone, obviously worried:

— Well, the whole school didn«t catch fire, there was just one small flame.

Near the porch and fence, a couple of police cars were parked; a fire engine that wasn«t quite needed just drove away from the building, and the ambulances by this time had apparently already taken the victims. A woman in a white fur coat came out of the building and, in a loud commanding voice, asked several students crowding at the entrance to go home:

— No homeroom teachers [or classes] today.

Investigative Committee employees arrived. Earlier, 14-year-old Lena was detained. One student told NGS24.RU that the girl was inside the school. Investigative actions with her began right there. TASS in its Telegram channel published a video of a school office where the girl sits behind blinds at a table, head bowed, covering her face with her hand.

The Krasnoyarsk Education Department announced that the day after the incident, 5 February, the school will be open, but the schedule will be adjusted.

A Suspicious Coincidence

This is not the only incident in schools in the country in recent days, including in Krasnoyarsk Krai. Literally a day before the incident at Pokrovsky school, in Kodinsk, a town 500 kilometers north of Krasnoyarsk, a student attacked a classmate with a knife during a chemistry lesson.

Presumably, the girl had a conflict with the teacher, and she was also «harassed» by other students, a relative of one child told NGS24.RU. The schoolgirl «decided to deal with her offenders» and tried to stab the teacher, but classmates stopped her. After that, she stabbed a student from a parallel class. The wounded girl was hospitalized and later released, and the attacker was detained.

The attacker«s mother did not take her home. The woman explained that she has other children at home. Her daughter spent the night in a temporary detention center.

On the same day, 3 February, a schoolboy in Ufa came to class with a weapon — he pointed it at his own teacher, with whom he decided to settle scores. The boy managed to shoot, but fortunately the teacher was not seriously injured. Soon, not only security forces but also parents of students arrived at the scene, who knew almost nothing about the fate of the barricaded children. Our colleagues from UFA1.RU described in detail the events that unfolded at the school that day.

All three events occurred within a short time of each other; in all cases, one motive is mentioned — bullying in schools.