Police in the central Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod said Tuesday they arrested an eighth-grade student suspected of stabbing two classmates on school grounds.
The victims, both eighth graders, were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the local news outlet NN.ru.
The suspected stabber initially fled the scene and hid in the woods before being arrested, NN.ru reported. Law enforcement sources and classmates cited by journalists said the teenager had allegedly been bullied by his victims and brought a knife to school to exact revenge.
Students were evacuated, and the school was shuttered hours after the attack, NN.ru reported.
The Nizhny Novgorod region prosecutor’s office said it launched a preliminary investigation into the incident and the conditions at the school that may have contributed to the attack.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously attributed the rise in school attacks to foreign influences, particularly from the United States, and has tightened gun control laws in response.
Authorities have also sought to strengthen school safety protocols following a series of deadly school shootings and knife attacks in recent years.
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