Globalized violence on social media helped spawn Kerch shooting "Putin"

The college shooting tragedy that shook the Crimean city of Kerch can be linked to globalization that has made senseless violence readily available to young people over social networks and the Internet, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club.

"Yesterday’s tragedy is apparently the result of globalization, among other factors, strange as it may seem. We see that on social media and on the Internet, whole communities have been created there, all founded on the well-known tragic events at schools in the United States," Putin pointed out.

According to the Russian leader, this was the result of an insufficient global response to the changing conditions throughout the world, particularly in cyberspace.

"That means that we do not create essential, inspiring and meaningful content for young people, so they seize upon this surrogate heroism. That results in tragedies similar to this one," Putin stressed.

On Wednesday, a local student, armed with a rifle, went on a shooting rampage and detonated a bomb on the campus of the Kerch Polytechnic College in Crimea. The shooter later turned the gun on himself and committed suicide. Subsequently, a criminal case was initially opened on terrorism charges, but was later reclassified as murder.

Twenty-one people died because of the shooting and explosion at the Kerch technical college, including the gun-wielding teenage attacker who ended up taking his own life. Around 50 people were taken to local hospitals, with ten of them in intensive care units in grave condition.

Three days of mourning have been declared in Crimea as of Thursday.