Teens in Perm school mass knifing attack charged with attempted murder

(TASS) – Charges have been brought against two teenagers who used knives to attack school students in the city of Perm, Russian Investigative Committee Spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said.

“The Russian Investigative Committee’s Main Investigations Department continues a criminal investigation into an incident occurring at a Perm school,” she said. “Two underage defendants have been charged under Articles 30.3 and 105.2 of the Russian Criminal Code (attempted murder of two or more people, committed by a group of individuals acting in collusion),” Petrenko added.

According to investigators, on January 15, a tenth grader and his underage acquaintance came to the school bearing knives. They entered a room where junior students were having a class and deliberately stabbed nine kids and their teacher. According to the Investigative Committee’s spokesperson, the second attacker is a former student of the same school. The attackers also wounded each other and were taken to hospital.

A court have arrested them both for two months, so after being discharged from hospital they will be taken to a pre-trial detention center.

“Investigators continue efforts to establish all the circumstances of the incident and the reasons for the crime,” Petrenko pointed out. “Investigators will also assess the actions or inactions of the school’s personnel, the teenagers’ parents and those responsible for ensuring security at the school,” she said.

The Russian laws stipulate that teenagers over 14 years of age should be sent to a pre-trial detention center for underage children in case they are arrested. In Russia, the age of criminal responsibility concerning crimes such as willful killing, attempted murder and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm is 14 years. According to lawyers, the instigators of the knife fight may face up to ten years in prison.