The Beslan school siege, also referred to as the Beslan school hostage crisis or the Beslan massacre, was a terrorist attack that occurred from 1 September 2004 to 3 September 2004 in the town of Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia. It lasted three days, and involved the imprisonment of more than 1,100 people as hostages, including 777 children. The hostages — primarily children, their parents, and school staff — were held by terrorists in a building rigged with explosives under severe conditions; the terrorists did not provide them with food or water and denied them other basic necessities. The siege ended with the deaths of 334 people, 186 of them children, as well as 31 of the attackers. It is considered the deadliest school shooting in history.