Russian high school in Ulan-Ude
© RuptlyRussian high school in Ulan-Ude
Three attackers, at least one of them armed with an axe, stormed a school in the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude and used a Molotov cocktail to set the building on fire. It is the second school attack in Russia in the space of a week.

There are conflicting reports about the number of attackers; while the Buryatia Republic authorities say that there were at least three, the Russian Investigative Committee is looking for a lone perpetrator.

Initial reports in the local media said a student stormed the high school with an axe and attacked a teacher and at least three students. He chopped off one of the victim's fingers, according to some reports.

According to the Buryatia Republic authorities, four people were injured, including an attacker. Later on Friday an official from the regional health ministry told TASS that seven people had been injured, "six children and a woman." He didn't specify whether the attacker was among them.

According to one account of the attack shared by the Telegram news channel Mash, the student, identified as 'Anton,' entered the school armed with an axe and a Molotov cocktail. He then went into one of the classrooms, where a seventh-grade Russian Language and Literature class was underway.

The attacker opened the door and threw the petrol bomb inside, starting a fire and causing panic. The teacher then tried to protect the children in the class and confronted the attacker, who hit her with the axe before attacking the students.

The regional office of the emergencies ministry confirmed the fire at the school, but said the flames were quickly extinguished. There are no confirmed reports of injuries relating to the blaze.

More than 500 people were evacuated from the school.

The perpetrator had earlier told one of the schoolgirls about his plans via the Viber messaging app, a local woman was cited by Ruptly as saying.

"The boy told her [the girl] not to go to school because 'there will be a massacre,'" she added.

The teen reportedly asked his friends to be his accomplices but they refused, a source close to the situation told Interfax.

A criminal case has been opened against the attacker on charges of attempted murder. Local investigators will also look into whether the school staff did enough to prevent the attack.

Friday's incident is the second school attack in Russia in less than a week. At least a dozen people were injured in a school in the city of Perm on Monday, after an 11th grader and a former student entered the building armed with knives and attacked a female teacher and nine students.