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Russian Schoolgirl Wounds 7 in Air Gun Shooting

Elizaveta Korolyova / Moskva News Agency

A 13-year-old student in central Russia has reportedly wounded seven people with an air gun in an attack planned with two classmates.

A spate of deadly school attacks has hit Russia over the past six months. The Kremlin suggested in January that the “evils” of the internet may have played a role in the attacks.

“Three girls closed the classroom [door] and began the shooting. One person was taken away in an ambulance. He was shot in the temple from an air gun,” an unnamed student in Kurgan region told the Znak.com news website Wednesday.

“They likely decided to repeat Columbine,” the student said, referring to the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in the U.S. state of Colorado.

The state-run TASS news agency cited regional investigators as saying that they were looking into the incident and that the air gun may have belonged to the schoolgirl’s father.

The agency cited health officials as saying that one injured student has been discharged after being treated, while the other six got away with bruises.

A local journalist told the Dozhd TV news channel the alleged shooter has been detained.

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