15 Dead in Russia School Shooting Despite ‘Restrictive’ Gun Control

Fifteen people were killed and 24 wounded during a school shooting in Russia on Monday despite that country’s “restrictive” gun control policies.

The attack occurred in “School No. 88 in Izhevsk,” which is approximately 600 miles east of Moscow, and “educates children between grades one and 11,” the Associated Press reported .

The gunman was identified as a 34-year-old who was a past graduate of School No. 88.

Among the 15 killed, 11 were children. Among the 24 wounded, 22 were children.

The governor of Udmurtia, Alexander Brechalov, said in a video statement that the gunman shot himself after carrying out the heinous attack, Breitbart News noted.

The University of Sydney’s GunPolicy.org lists Russia’s gun control as “restrictive.”  There is no right to gun ownership in Russia and government approval is required in order to own the firearms approved for private possession.

For example, handguns are banned from private ownership, as are automatic rifles and pistols. Certain rifles and shotguns may be owned, but private citizens must acquire a firearm license in order to own them.

The process for acquiring “a firearm license in Russia must pass a background check which considers criminal, mental health, and medical records.” Moreover, a firearm license is only valid for five years, after which time a license holder must “re-apply and re-qualify.”

All privately owned firearms are registered with the government in Russia, and records are kept on all ammunition purchases.

Russia also has “written specifications for the lawful safe storage of private firearms and ammunition by licensed gun owners.”

Russia also has gun controls governing the transport of firearms, the number of firearms a individually may legally own, and the prohibitions against the public carry of firearms, whether open or concealed.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.