Xi Jinping Sends Condolence Message to Putin on Russian School Shooting Incident: "Mourning the Victims"

Poet Si Juseok "Shocked by the news of the mass shooting... Sincerely comfort the victims' families"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a condolence message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 27th, expressing "condolences to the victims" regarding the mass shooting incident at a Russian school that resulted in 41 casualties, including students and teachers.

According to China's state-run news agency Xinhua, President Xi stated in the condolence message, "I was shocked to hear the news of the shooting incident at a school in Izhevsk, Russia," and added, "On behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, and in my personal capacity, I express my deepest condolences to the victims and offer sincere sympathy to the families of the victims."

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also mentioned at a regular briefing that day, "We express our condolences to the victims and extend our sympathies to the families of the victims and the injured."

On the 26th (local time), a man in his 30s opened fire at a school in Izhevsk, the capital of the Udmurt Republic in central Russia, killing 17 students and teachers and injuring 24 others. The perpetrator, a graduate of the school, took his own life at the scene.