In the capital of Daghestan, Makhachkala, a 15-year-old schoolboy reportedly stabbed a classmate with a knife during an argument. The victim later died of his injuries. The suspect has been charged with murder, and school administrators have been charged with negligence.

The incident took place on Monday morning during a recess break at Makhachkala Lyceum 51. According to police, the suspect, a grade 9 student, stabbed 15-year-old Djabrail Hadjihanov who later died of his injuries in an ambulance. The suspect, who has been detained by police, is reportedly Hadjihanov’s classmate.

In a video released by the Republican Ministry of Internal Affairs, the suspect said that he had taken a knife from home.

‘I had no intention of killing him. I stabbed him in a heat of passion, unintentionally’, he said. According to the suspect, after stabbing Hadjihanov he went to the school’s principal and told him what had happened.

Daghestan’s Investigative Committee initiated criminal proceedings and charged the alleged assailant with murder. A criminal case of negligence has also been brought against the school director and his deputy for education. According to local media quoting the mayor of Makhachkala, both were fired. 

An investigation has also been launched into the management of a security firm contracted to protect the school. They are suspected of ‘providing services that do not meet the requirements of the safety of life and health of consumers’. 

Gaji Magomedov, a camera operator from the local state-run television channel Daghestan, who had come to the scene of the tragedy, was reportedly beaten by high school students. According to Daghestan he suffered numerous bruises and was taken to hospital. 

Magomedov was reportedly attacked for his refusal to stop videotaping students at the site of the alleged killing.