MOSCOW: A gunman killed nine people, including five children, at a school in Russia on Monday before committing suicide, Russian officials said.

The motive for the shooting in Izhevsk, capital of the Udmurtia region about 970 km (600 miles) east of Moscow, was unclear.

The Udmurtia branch of the interior ministry said the body of the gunman was discovered by police at the scene. Russia’s Investigative Committee said the attacker had killed nine people before committing suicide. The victims included five children, two teachers and two security guards, it said.

Russia has seen several school shootings in recent years.

In May 2021, a teenage gunman killed seven children and two adults in the city of Kazan. In April 2022, an armed man killed two children and a teacher at a kindergarten in the central Ulyanovsk region before committing suicide. (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Frank Jack Daniel)