Police in Russia have arrested a 15-year-old schoolboy alleged to have attacked a female teacher with an axe and opened fire with an air rifle during lessons at a school in outer Moscow on 5 September.

The boy is now in custody, and has been identified as Mikhail Pivnev. He is believed to have been inspired by the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in the US.

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Pivnev was led away from his school in Ivanteyevka, 20km north-east of the capital, this morning after the incident, which led to at least four injuries including some students who threw themselves out of windows to escape.

"A 15-year-old student attacked an IT teacher with a kitchen axe and hit her on the head," the Russian prosecutor general said in a statement

"Then the teenager started detonating homemade firecrackers and shooting with an air gun. At least four people have been injured, including three children and one teacher," he added, as reported by Russia Today.

The teacher is in hospital and is said to be in a serious condition having suffered wounds to the head. Two students have been hospitalised with fractures they sustained from jumping out of windows while a third injured their back in the fall.

Video footage shows the suspect being led away by two police officers while other clips depict the commotion outside the school shortly after it was evacuated.

Russian media reported that Pivnev had recently changed his VKontakte (Russian social media) name to Klebold – the surname of one of the two Colorado teens who killed 12 fellow students and a teacher at Columbine High School 18 years ago.

Pivnev's page reportedly contains several further Columbine references and pictures of teenagers shooting weapons while his current status reads: "Delete my life 05/09/17".

A fellow student described Mikhail as "a very introverted person. Everyone says that he was strange. Some say that he had wanted to do this for a long time. But everyone thought he was joking,"

Another student, who witnessed the attack, said: "I heard shots, sounds of firecrackers. We escaped via emergency exits. There was smoke everywhere. I heard shouting."

Police say the situation is completely under their control. They are questioning the Pivnev to try and ascertain his motives. Meanwhile, the school is expected to reopen tomorrow.

on 24 April 2017, a grenade was reported to have been thrown into a computer room at a school in the Russian state of Dagestan. Two people were killed and 11 were injured in the attack.

Russia Ivanteyevka school attack
The attack took place at this school in Ivanteyevka RT
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