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Ammon News - Man shoots security guard before taking a reported 20 teenagers hostage in school on outskirts of Moscow.

A gunman shot and killed a security guard and took more than 20 students hostage at a school on the outskirts of Moscow on Monday, the Reuters news agency quoted Russian news website Lifenews as saying.

A police spokeswoman said a man entered the school with a rifle and shot a security guard.

Reuters reported Lifenews as saying the security guard had died.

She said she had no further details and could not confirm any deaths. An eyewitness told Rossiya-24 television news that a police helicopter hovered overhead.

A student shot and killed two people and briefly took fellow pupils hostage at a high school in Moscow, Russian authorities said Monday.

The gunman took students and their teacher hostage during a biology class. He is believed to be a pupil at School No. 263 on the northern outskirts of Moscow, the Investigative Committee of Russia said.

The incident happened around noon local time when the student entered the school with a gun and forced his way passed a security guard, who raised the alarm.

A teacher and police officer were killed.

"On his way to the class the shooter injured one of the teachers who died later," the Committee, Russia's federal intelligence agency, said. "The police officers arrived to the school.

When they entered the building the shooter opened a gun fire, injured one and killed another."
All of the hostages were released and the gunman was detained, it added.

The incident comes as Russia prepares to host the Winter Olympic Games, due to start in Sochi this week.

Olympics days away

State news agency RIA Novosti said it was unclear what motivated the attack.

Television footage showed the building surrounded by police and fire emergency vehicles, RIA Novosti said.

A helicopter belonging to the Emergencies Ministry landed near the school and evacuated the injured police officer, state news channel Russia 24 said.

Security concerns have been heightened in Russia ahead of the Olympic Games following twin bombings in Volgograd in December.

The Games are set to begin on February 7 in Sochi, and a huge security operation is under way around the Black Sea resort.

Russia is pouring resources into ensuring that the Olympic Games, seen as a flagship project of President Vladimir Putin, go off without problems.

*Agencies