Eight killed in shooting at Russian university

A student opened fire on a university campus in central Russia on Monday killing at least eight people, investigators said, in the second mass shooting at an education facility this year. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said several people were also injured in the attack at Perm State University and that the suspect had been wounded while being detained.

Investigators previously said that five people were killed and another six wounded.

Russia has relatively few school shootings due to normally tight security in education facilities and because of difficulty of buying firearms legally, although it is possible to register hunting rifles Videos circulating on social media showed students throwing belongings from windows from buildings on campus before jumping to flee the shooter.

State media played amateur footage reportedly taken during the attack showing an individual dressed in black tactical clothing, including a helmet, carrying a weapon and walking through the campus.

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

The country’s FSB security service says it has prevented dozens of armed attacks on schools in recent years.

In February 2020 the FSB said it had detained two teenagers on suspicion of plotting an attack on a school in the city of Saratov with weapons and homemade explosives. Authorities have claimed that young Russians are being increasingly exposed to negative influences online, especially from the West.