Armed attacks and murders in educational organizations: Criminal law and criminological assessments

Abstract

The tragedy of May 2021 in one of the Kazan schools could not but bring back to the society a heated debate as to ways to counter violence against students and teachers in educational organizations (the so-called “school shooting” after the respective term in the English language). We believe that alongside with journalists, psychologists and politicians, experts in the field of criminal law and criminology should also come out with their recommendations. This paper examines the practice of criminal law as to classifying mass shooting in educational organizations of the Russian Federation, and concludes on the legality of prosecuting the crime perpetrators, there being cause, either such as murder or as a terrorist act. The authors do not consider it expedient to amend the terrorist act statutory definition (Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) so that it would cover all cases of “school shooting” without distinction. Nonetheless, doubts are expressed as to the sufficient propriety of the recommendation issued by the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (Resolution “On court practice several issues related to criminal cases on crimes of terrorism”) to qualify an act of terrorism, which resulted in intentional death, under Article 205 of the RF Criminal Code alone. The authors analyzed the materials available to them regarding the cases of mass shooting in educational organizations, which fact has provided an opportunity to identify a number of circumstances, considering which appears necessary when developing measures to prevent and stop them. Particular attention among such measures should be paid to engaging as necessary directly with students in educational organizations, harmonizing relations both among students per se and between students and teachers.