MOSCOW: A student gunman opened fire at a university in the Russian city of Perm on Monday, killing eight people and injuring six others, law enforcement authorities said.
The gunman was detained shortly after the incident located around 1,300 kilometres east of Moscow, a university spokesperson and the police said.
The assailant entered the Perm State University campus Monday morning “with an offensive weapon” and opened fire, the university said in a message, alertinh everyone on campus to leave if possible, or lock themselves inside a room.
Students jumped from first-floor windows to escape the building, landing heavily on the ground before running to safety, local media video footage from the scene showed.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, the agency that handles probes into major crimes, said the gunman had been identified as a student at the university.
Russia has strict restrictions on civilian firearm ownership, but some categories of guns are available for purchase for hunting, self-defence or sport, once would-be owners have passed tests and met other requirements.
According to a Russian news agency, an unidentified person entered the university building and opened fire. Some students, who were in the building locked themselves in the auditorium building and many jumped out of the windows.
It said that the individual was carrying a ‘traumatic non-lethal’ weapon. It added that the shooter has reportedly been neutralised. Unconfirmed reports identified him as an 18-year-old lone-wolf attacker named Timur Bekmansurov, who allegedly left a note describing his motives on social media.
Russia has strict restrictions on civilian firearm ownership, but some categories of guns are available for purchase for hunting, self-defence or sport, once owners have passed tests and met other requirements.
reports of another school shooting in Russia; this time at Perm State University. Russian agencies say there are casualties. pic.twitter.com/jkeyGDLO05
— Mike Eckel (@Mike_Eckel) September 20, 2021
