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2014 Moscow school shooting

SOLVED2014School No. 263, Otradnoye District, Moscow, Russia3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Archival record

On 3 February 2014, a school shooting occurred at School No. 263 in the Otradnoye District of Moscow, Russia. Sergey Gordeyev, a 15-year-old pupil, armed himself with a Browning SA-22 rifle and a Tikka T3 bolt-action rifle taken from his father's gun safe, and entered the school. He shot geography teacher Andrei Kirillov twice in the head, killing him, and held approximately 20 classmates hostage in the classroom.

When security forces responded, Gordeyev opened fire on officers who approached the classroom. Warrant Officer Sergei Bushuyev was fatally wounded after being shot while attempting to enter the room, dying from blood loss before medical help arrived. Senior Sergeant Vladimir Krohin was also shot and severely wounded, sustaining injuries to his chest, diaphragm, liver, stomach, pancreas, and inferior vena cava; he survived after treatment and was released in April 2014.

Gordeyev's father, Viktor, was called in by special forces to negotiate. Wearing a bulletproof vest, he entered the classroom and persuaded his son to release the hostages, which occurred around 12:48 p.m. Gordeyev was then taken into custody by SOBR fighters.

During interrogation, Gordeyev stated he had planned the attack to demonstrate his belief in solipsism — that only he existed and the world was an illusion — to his classmates, intending to commit suicide afterward. A forensic psychiatric examination conducted at the Serbsky State Scientific Center in April 2014 diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia and found him insane at the time of the offense.

The criminal trial began in September 2014 at the Butyrsky District Court. Both the defense and the state prosecution agreed Gordeyev was insane. On 3 March 2015, the court ruled that Gordeyev, being insane, had committed murder and attempted murder, and ordered him into compulsory psychiatric treatment. Victims' representatives challenged the ruling, and in August 2015 the Moscow City Court upheld it as lawful. However, in November 2015 the Presidium of the Moscow City Court overturned the decision and referred the case to the Moscow District Military Court for reconsideration. On 8 February 2016, that court again ruled Gordeyev insane and ordered compulsory psychiatric treatment, a decision the Supreme Court of Russia upheld on 5 May 2016. The victims' side subsequently filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in September 2016.

Separately, civil proceedings resulted in Gordeyev and his parents being ordered to pay compensation to the family of teacher Andrei Kirillov. A criminal case was also opened against Gordeyev's father for negligent storage of firearms; he was granted amnesty in June 2015. President Vladimir Putin publicly responded to the shooting, and the incident prompted debate in Russia over school security, gun storage laws, and the influence of violent media on minors. Kirillov, Bushuyev, and Krohin were awarded the Order of Courage by presidential decree.

Key facts

Victims
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Krohin, Andrei Nikolaevich Kirillov, Sergei Viktorovich Bushuyev
Date
2014
Location
School No. 263, Otradnoye District, Moscow, Russia
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2014-02-02

    Sergey Gordeyev decided to commit the attack and located the keys to his father's gun safe.

  2. 2014-02-03

    Gordeyev entered School No. 263, shot and killed teacher Andrei Kirillov, and took approximately 20 classmates hostage; police officer Sergei Bushuyev was fatally wounded and officer Vladimir Krohin was severely wounded responding to the scene; hostages were released around 12:48 p.m. after negotiation by Gordeyev's father.

  3. 2014-02-04

    Gordeyev appeared before the Basmanny District Court for a preliminary hearing and was ordered held in custody.

  4. 2014-02-06

    President Vladimir Putin signed a decree awarding Kirillov, Bushuyev, and Krohin the Order of Courage.

  5. 2014-02-12

    Gordeyev was formally charged.

  6. 2014-04

    Forensic psychiatric examination at the Serbsky Institute concluded Gordeyev was insane and diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia; Krohin was released from hospital treatment.

  7. 2014-05

    A criminal case was opened against Gordeyev's father, Viktor, for negligent storage of firearms.

  8. 2014-08-22

    The criminal case was sent to the Butyrsky District Court.

  9. 2014-09-08

    Trial began at the Butyrsky District Court.

  10. 2015-03-03

    Butyrsky District Court ruled Gordeyev insane and ordered compulsory psychiatric treatment.

  11. 2015-06

    Viktor Gordeyev was granted amnesty in the firearms storage case.

  12. 2015-08-10

    Moscow City Court upheld the Butyrsky District Court's ruling as lawful.

  13. 2015-11-13

    Presidium of the Moscow City Court overturned the ruling and referred the case to the Moscow District Military Court for reconsideration.

  14. 2016-02-08

    Moscow District Military Court again ruled Gordeyev insane and ordered compulsory psychiatric treatment.

  15. 2016-03-02

    Butyrsky District Court ordered Gordeyev and his parents to pay compensation to Andrei Kirillov's family in civil proceedings.

  16. 2016-05-05

    Supreme Court of Russia upheld the Moscow District Military Court's February 2016 ruling as lawful.

  17. 2016-09

    Victims' representatives filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.

  18. 2016-12-22

    A memorial plaque honoring Bushuyev was unveiled at Moscow School No. 1411.

  19. 2017

    Gordeyev was reportedly transferred from inpatient to outpatient psychiatric treatment and returned to Moscow.

  20. 2020-01

    Victims' representatives appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office to review the legality of Gordeyev's transfer to outpatient treatment.

Best coverage

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People

  • Viktor Gordeyev

    CHARGED

    Father of the shooter; charged under Article 224 of the Russian Criminal Code for negligent storage of firearms; granted amnesty in June 2015.

  • Vladimir Aleksandrovich Krohin

    VICTIM

    Senior Sergeant with the Post and Patrol Service, severely wounded responding to the scene; survived after treatment and received the Order of Courage in May 2014.

  • Sergey Viktorovich Gordeyev

    ACQUITTED

    15-year-old student found insane by Russian courts (2015, upheld 2016) and ordered into compulsory psychiatric treatment for the killing of teacher Andrei Kirillov and police officer Sergei Bushuyev, and the wounding of officer Vladimir Krohin; not held criminally liable due to insanity finding.

  • Andrei Nikolaevich Kirillov

    VICTIM

    Geography and biology teacher at School No. 263, shot and killed by Gordeyev; posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.

  • Sergei Viktorovich Bushuyev

    VICTIM

    Warrant Officer with the Non-Department Security of the National Guard, fatally shot while responding to the scene; posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • 2014 Moscow school shooting 04

    archival location

    2014 Moscow school shooting 04

    Dmitry Rozhkov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • 2014 Moscow school shooting 06

    archival location

    2014 Moscow school shooting 06

    Dmitry Rozhkov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • Farewell ceremony of killed people on 263 Moscow school

    archival location

    Farewell ceremony of killed people on 263 Moscow school

    Евгений Самарин · CC BY 4.0 · Source

  • School No. 263 (Moscow)

    archival location

    School No. 263 (Moscow)

    изображение снято камерой наблюдения · Public domain · Source

  • Browning .22

    unclassified

    Browning .22

    Hmaag · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • 2014 Moscow school shooting 08

    archival location

    2014 Moscow school shooting 08

    Dmitry Rozhkov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • 2014 Moscow school shooting 01

    archival location

    2014 Moscow school shooting 01

    Dmitry Rozhkov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • 2014 Moscow school shooting 05

    archival location

    2014 Moscow school shooting 05

    Dmitry Rozhkov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • 2014 Moscow school shooting 03

    archival location

    2014 Moscow school shooting 03

    Dmitry Rozhkov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • 2014 Moscow school shooting 07

    archival location

    2014 Moscow school shooting 07

    Dmitry Rozhkov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • 2014 Moscow school shooting 02

    archival location

    2014 Moscow school shooting 02

    Dmitry Rozhkov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

  • Sobyanin's comment (2014-02-03)

    archival location

    Sobyanin's comment (2014-02-03)

    Евгений Самарин · CC BY 4.0 · Source

Places

School No. 263, Otradnoye District, Moscow, Russia

55.8569, 37.6142

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On 3 February 2014, a 15-year-old student shot and killed his geography teacher and a responding police officer, and wounded another officer, during a hostage situation at School No. 263 in Moscow before his father negotiated the release of the hostages.
Where did the shooting happen?
School No. 263, Otradnoye District, Moscow, Russia.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in Russia

Sources

  1. 2014 Moscow school shootingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — BBC Newsnews · BBC News · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — Reutersnews · Reuters · 2026-07-07