Ufa Student Shoots Teacher, Sparking Panic at School

Today, 3 February, a student at Gymnasium No. 16 in Ufa came to class with a weapon — which he used against his own teacher, with whom he decided to settle scores. The boy managed to fire, but fortunately the teacher sustained no serious injuries. Soon, not only law enforcement but also parents of students arrived at the scene, knowing almost nothing about the fate of the children who had barricaded themselves inside. They all waited for answers and were on edge because trouble had literally come to their home. A journalist from UFA1.RU visited the scene, spoke with parents and students, and reports the details.

‘The Children Are Safe — That’s the Main Thing’

Gymnasium No. 16 is located in the courtyards on Mendeleeva Street, in the Zelyonaya Roshcha neighborhood. Nearby, if you walk out of the houses, there is a tram terminus, and behind the school grounds stretches the Rutto Dendropark. The area does not stand out in any way: neither poverty nor wealthy life.

The school appeared here in 1989; since 1999, English has been studied in depth here; in 2009, it received gymnasium status. Its rating on Yandex Maps is 4.1. There are both positive and negative comments: complaints about teachers, dress code, sometimes security. As everywhere, though. The director since 2018 is Marina Kamalova.

A report of the shooting was received by emergency services around 11:00. The correspondent arrived at the scene around 11:40. The main access road to the school was blocked, but from the side of the same courtyards it was possible to drive through.

The entrance to the school was guarded by police officers; they did not let parents who had gathered on the porch into the building. No one knew what the situation really was inside, how many victims there were, and most importantly — who exactly.

Mothers and fathers of children also stood outside the school; one woman spoke on the phone in a nervous voice to a relative and recounted the situation, but generally almost everyone waiting at the entrance had phones.

‘We know our children are safe, that’s the most important thing. But what happened, we ourselves cannot say yet,’ one mother stated.

Soon, special forces and Ministry of Emergency Situations personnel came out of the building, but no one gave comments to the parents. Although the situation was tense and nervous, no panic was observed. Two parents, talking among themselves, were outraged: teachers told them nothing was happening and it was just a drill.

And indeed, a drill was supposed to take place today — at 11 am, exactly when the attack occurred. Probably the teachers themselves did not fully know what had happened. And judging by footage from classrooms, students also considered the armed student part of the drill.

‘They huddled in the corner, she says, we hear shots. She’s crying, [the other daughter] is crying. She calls me from Moscow and asks: “Mom, what happened there?!” I went outside in confusion, my bag fell, I don’t remember where my car is,’ a mother said confusedly on the phone.

One of the senior students later told a UFA1.RU correspondent how it all happened: his class was having an English lesson, they heard a noise but thought it was for the drill.

‘Then they seemed to say “all clear,” we were about to leave, but we were told to go back in. We open Telegram — and absolutely everywhere it was already being written what was happening. Then we, honestly, got scared, because one student left our class and didn’t return,’ the boy recalled.

That student is fine: upon learning of the alarm, he ran into another classroom.

‘We closed the door. Good thing it actually locked, because not all classrooms have locks. Then we put up desks and sat waiting. Actually, I wasn’t even scared; my parents were more worried — they started calling me, asking if I’m alive,’ the boy said.

He notes that they got off easy, but not those who found themselves in the crosshairs.

Many fathers ran over as soon as reports appeared, started calling and texting their children. One man told a UFA1.RU correspondent: his son reported that everything was fine, they were in class, but they were ordered to turn off their phones. The children were not brought out for a long time; only at noon did primary school students begin to exit. They were led by teachers, police, and rescuers.

Judging by the enthusiastic chatter, the little ones were not even frightened: they discussed the police officers, and generally people in uniform, and there were very many of them. Some parents could not hold back tears when they saw the children exiting in formation under police escort.

‘I was the first to run here, walked around the building, looked — the alarm is flashing inside. Then two more parents came up, we stand waiting. The gym teacher tells us someone just set off a firecracker. Then special services arrived. Rescuers came quickly,’ said the father of one girl.

According to him, when the Rosgvardiya (Russian National Guard) arrived, he expected they would storm the building, but that didn’t happen. He himself was very worried at that moment because ‘no one is reacting’.

‘When the alarm is going off, it’s really hard. And when services arrive after 20–25 minutes — that, damn it, makes you anxious,’ the man said.

Note that, according to the head of Bashkortostan, law enforcement arrived within 10 minutes.

According to one parent, his daughter managed to text him about some explosion, then reassured him: they had barricaded themselves in the classroom. Another man believes that the explosion and gunshots could have been mistaken for firecrackers.

‘Pay Attention to Our School’

After noon, the crowd around the entrance grew noticeably: apparently, some people had taken time off work and rushed over. The mayor of Ufa, Ratmir Mavliyev, was already on site: when there were many people, he came out to them and briefly informed them: the boy had been bullied by ninth-graders, he came with an airsoft gun and fired, no casualties.

‘This case is not just outrageous for us. The boy looks healthy, speaks coherently,’ Mavliyev said.

In response, parents asked: ‘Now will you pay attention to our school? We have bullying in the tenth grade!’ The mayor replied that ‘this is a complex problem that needs to be addressed.’ Parents say they complained to the school administration — apparently, no action was taken. Mavliyev proposed creating a commission for working with parents, to which they could report school problems.

‘It’s scary, painful, hard, but something must be done about it. Teachers alone cannot cope. We need parents, the administration, the Ministry of Education — get everyone involved. … But as it is, thank God, I went in and made sure [the children] are fine,’ Mavliyev said.

Some children managed to run out as soon as the alarm was given. They ended up on the street; some managed to grab clothes, others walked in just a shirt (presumably they were still somewhere inside). Other kids were given their scarves by teachers: it was not terribly cold outside, but there was wind and snow.

Who Is the Shooter

It is known that the boy who caused the commotion is in one of the ninth grade classes. As school director Marina Kamalova stated, he transferred from another school in the sixth grade. He aroused no suspicion (so they say about everyone, and then something like this happens).

‘We heard a small pop. We pressed the panic button, everyone immediately barricaded themselves, called the Rosgvardiya. It turned out a ninth-grade student brought a toy gun with rubber bullets into the building,’ Kamalova said.

Parents have mixed opinions about the boy. One man standing outside recognized him as his neighbor. Reading his Telegram channel, the father was clearly lost; he called someone and then ran to the school porch.

‘From his [the shooter’s] class they said he seemed normal. The only thing, he moved from class to class, there was some bullying directed at him,’ the father of one student told UFA1.RU.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bashkortostan published footage of the interrogation of the detained boy. In the video, he says: ‘I prepared for this for about a few weeks. I didn’t want to cause harm, just to scare. I talked to him, there were fights, meetings with the vice principal.’

A student from a parallel class told a UFA1.RU journalist that the attacker published ‘non-mainstream content on Telegram’ and was ‘not like everyone else.’ According to the boy, from the social media videos it is clear the shooter was not going to settle scores with students but with the teacher, otherwise he wouldn’t have told them to close the door.

‘There’s such a thing as a quiet type. I’d say he was like that. But with his own mental issues, because, you understand, doing something like that — it’s not normal,’ the student said.

It is known that the boy has a large family: father, mother, and two other children. Their relationship is not yet known; law enforcement will have to find out.

The boy took the gun from his younger brother. According to the head of Bashkortostan, the ‘weapon’ was plastic, so a metal detector would not have detected it. However, the student also had a kitchen knife with him, but no one searched the boy.

‘As they preliminarily say here, all children have something metallic on them that “beeps.” So they didn’t pay attention. That means the first line of defense, security, did not work, although a private security company (ChOP) was on site,’ Radiy Khabirov said.

Furthermore, according to him, the student did not resist when the Rosgvardiya came for him.

Which organization guarded the school is unknown; the contract winner is hidden in the state procurement records. It is known that for a month of security services the institution paid 163,500 rubles (approximately $1,800 at current rates). But now it will clearly face questions, as a photo of a sleeping guard was posted on social media. When and under what circumstances the photo was taken and whether it is genuine at all, regulatory bodies will have to determine.

Why

Talking to journalists at the scene of the incident, Khabirov said that ‘the motives can be different,’ including problems at home, unhappy love, or bullying. The shooter himself complained on his channel that he had argued with many people before, and now he just endures. He also mentioned quarrels with the teacher and even with his parents.

‘He shot at the history teacher, Timur Vinerovich. He [the shooter] had a personal dislike for him. He posted on his channel that he hates him because Timur Vinerovich is a very good person, but he often scolded children about uniforms and stuff. And this boy beat up his classmate — he was scolded for that, and apparently he came to hate everyone,’ a gymnasium student said.

Our conversation was interrupted, apparently by the class monitor, who told everyone to leave and not discuss this topic. Later, parents were also forced to leave the area, even though some children were still in the school.

‘His behavior doesn’t explain anything. His place is where he will end up,’ one student said, commenting on what happened.

The Investigative Committee of Bashkortostan opened two criminal cases: one for attempted murder and one for negligence on the part of school employees. Who exactly will be the subject of the second case is not yet known.