At least 19 people have been killed after a mass shooting and explosion at a college in Crimea.

Russian authorities say Vladislav Roslyakov, an 18-year-old student at the vocational school, carried out the attack and then shot himself dead.

Though it was initially thought to be a possible terror attack, Russia is currently treating the incident as mass murder.

Investigators say the victims of the attack in the Black Sea city of Kerch all died from gunshot wounds, in contrast with earlier reports that the explosion had killed some students.

Image: The school was surrounded by military

Around 40 people, the majority of them teenagers, are believed to have been injured.


Initial reports said the blast had been caused by a gas explosion, but investigators later said a shrapnel-filled improvised explosive device had gone off in the school cafeteria,

A state of emergency was declared in Crimea after the attack, and it was reported that schools and nurseries were evacuated.

Image: Pictures of the gunman were caught on CCTV

Security was tightened at the city's notorious Kerch bridge, a 12-mile road link between Russia and Crimea viewed as strengthening Russia's hold over the peninsula.

The Kremlin annexed Crimea from the Ukraine in 2014, provoking sanctions from the international community, and has supported separatists fighting against the Ukrainian government in a conflict that has left 10,000 dead since 2014.

Image: Around 40 people, the majority of them teenagers, are believed to have been injured

Sergei Aksyonov, the regional leader in Crimea, and Russian health minister Veronika Skvortsova have travelled to Kerch to support the injured.

Students and staff hid in classrooms during the mass shooting, with some reporting that the rampage went on for 15 minutes.

Olga Grebennikova, the school's director, described a bloody scene, saying a gunman ran around the school and "killed anyone they could find".

"There are bodies everywhere, children's bodies everywhere," she said. "They blew up everything in the hall, glass was flying."

Russia's President Putin said the attack was a "result of globalisation", drawing parallels with similar school shootings in the US.