Artyom Igorevich Kazantsev was a native of Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia, and a former student of School No. 88 in Izhevsk. He was 34 years old at the time of the shooting.

Regional officials stated that Kazantsev was registered as an outpatient at a mental health facility and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Court materials referenced in reporting state that on 7 December 2008 he attacked two people with a knife in separate incidents within about 20 minutes. A forensic psychiatric examination concluded he was legally insane at the time, and the criminal case was closed in May 2009 without compulsory medical treatment being imposed.

Authorities later restricted the public release of a manifesto described as connected to him. Accounts state he deleted material from his computer and left a file labelled “Manifesto,” which included hostile statements toward state institutions and public figures and a statement that he had considered killing his mother but did not do so.

On 26 September 2022, at approximately 10:52 a.m., Artyom Kazantsev entered School No. 88 in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia, carrying two pistols and 44 magazines containing 352 rounds of ammunition. He opened fire shortly after entering, killing a security guard and a cloakroom attendant and fatally wounding a cleaner. He moved down the hallway and shot an art teacher and three first-grade students, all aged seven.

Kazantsev then returned toward the entrance and went to the second floor, where he killed a second security guard who had already reported the shooting and was attempting to warn staff on the upper floors. He continued onto the second and third floors, entering several classrooms and firing at students and staff, killing three students aged 9, 10, and 11, along with a math teacher. A child witness later reported that Kazantsev shouted, “Bastards, where are you?” after leaving a classroom where children were hiding under desks.

He proceeded to room 403 on the fourth floor, where he killed five students aged 14–15 and an English teacher. After the final shootings, he died by suicide inside the school. Russian investigators published footage from the scene showing areas inside the building after the attack.

Eighteen victims died in total, including eleven students aged 7 to 15, two security guards, three teachers, a cloakroom attendant, and a cleaner. Authorities initially reported lower fatality figures, and on 8 November 2022 the death toll was reported to have risen to 18 after the wounded cleaner, Lyudmila Fedotova, died. Twenty-three people were reported wounded, including twenty-two children.

Investigators searched Kazantsev’s residence and examined reports of extremist ideology, including reports that he wore clothing bearing Nazi symbols during the attack. Items reported in connection with the case included keychains referencing the Columbine perpetrators. During the shooting, he also carried baby monitors and reportedly placed one on the first floor to listen for police activity.

Victims (killed)

Dmitry Buldakov, 7; Alexander Kivamov, 7; Arina Urakova, 7; Kirill Baryshnikov, 9; Ilya Ovchinnikov, 10; Eva Knyazeva, 11; Vladimir Afanasyev, 15; Vyacheslav Babintsev, 15; Nikita Ipatov, 14; Vladislav Mokrushin, 15; Sofya Osotova, 15; Nikolai Kiselyov (school guard), 73; Rinaz Zamalutdinov (guard), 60; Gulshat Rafikova (cloakroom attendant), 40; Svetlana Sukhanova (art teacher), 53; Natalya Vedernikova (math teacher), 50; Margarita Sakharnykh (English teacher), 57; Lyudmila Fedotova (cleaner), 67 (died later on 8 November 2022).