1 killed, 11 hurt in grenade explosion near school in Russia

MAKHACHKALA, Russia – A grenade exploded Monday in a computer club near a school in the Russian republic of Dagestan, killing one pupil and injuring 11 others, officials said.

Police said they detained the teenager who brought the grenade into the club in a rural, mountainous area in Dagestan, one of the predominantly Muslim republics in Russia’s North Caucasus.

The grenade exploded accidentally, said Tamara Chinennaya, a spokeswoman for Dagestan’s government. She said the teenager who brought the grenade into the club said he found it on the street and then showed it to a friend, who accidentally pulled out the safety pin.

At least three of the injured teenagers were in intensive care.

Following two separatist wars in neighbouring Chechnya, an Islamic insurgency spread to Dagestan where shootouts between the militants and police are common and the illegal ownership of weapons is high.