A school security guard in western Russia’s Bryansk region, where last week a teenager killed one of her classmates before taking her own life, could face prison time on charges of failing to prevent the shooting, the state news agency TASS reported Friday.
Galina Chertkova, a private security company employee, was among several people detained in connection with the Dec. 7 school shooting in the city of Bryansk.
Investigators said a 14-year-old student killed one of her classmates and injured five other students before killing herself with her father’s pump-action shotgun.
The Bryansk Region Court ruled to release Chertkova from pre-trial detention and placed her under house arrest following an appeal, TASS reported from the courthouse.
Chertkova faces up to 10 years in prison on charges of failing to discharge her duties.
At previous court hearings, Chertkova said she had heard rumors that the teen assailant may have brought the shotgun inside a blueprint tube, but she insisted that she did not see anything suspicious on the day of the shooting.
Meanwhile, the shooter’s father Dmitry Afanaskin was charged with negligent possession of weapons, which he has admitted, as well as “incitement of suicide,” which he denies.
A court ruled to place Afanaskin under house arrest.
In addition to the father and security guard, authorities have charged school officials with negligence, and the head of the private security company where Chertkova was employed was charged with providing services in violation of safety standards.
