Shooting at Russian university leaves 6 dead, 28 hurt

MOSCOW — A student opened fire at a university in Russia, leaving six people dead and 28 hurt before being shot by police and detained, officials said on Tuesday. Other students and staff locked themselves in rooms during the attack and video on Russian news sites showed some students jumping out of second-story windows.

Beyond saying that he was a student, Russian authorities offered no further information on his identity or a possible motive, according to AP.

In some footage, a black-clad helmeted figure could be seen striding on a sidewalk at Perm State University, cradling a long-barreled weapon. Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s top body for criminal probes, said the gunman fired a smoothbore hunting weapon. That could indicate he used a shotgun.

President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences.

“It is a tremendous tragedy, not only for the families who lost their children but for the entire country,” Putin said.

The university, which has 12,000 students, said about 3,000 people were on campus at the time. The school is in Perm, a city of 1 million residents located 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) east of Moscow.

In a video released by the Interior Ministry, a witness whose name was not given said he saw the man outside after shooting two people and that he appeared to be wearing a bulletproof vest.

A traffic police unit was the first to reach the scene and the suspect opened fire on them, according to the Interior Ministry. He was wounded when police returned fire and then was disarmed. The gunman also had a knife, the ministry said.

One traffic officer said people rushed out of the university building as gunshots were heard.

“I entered the building and saw an armed young man walking down the stairs. I shouted at him ‘Drop it!’” That’s when he pointed the gun at me and fired. At that point I used my gun,” officer Konstantin Kalinin said in the ministry video.

“I feel shock, disdain and anger,” university student Olga Kechatova said later at a makeshift memorial outside the university. “People who study with me at the university suffered and died for nothing.”