At Least 6 Dead After Gunman Opens Fire at Russian University

A student clad in body armor shot to death six people Monday and injured 28 others at a university in Russia, authorities said. The gunman was shot and detained by police, according to officials. 

Cellphone footage posted on social media appears to show the shooter, clad in black and wearing a helmet, calmly walking onto the campus of Perm State National Research University as he loads a long weapon with shells. Other videos show students throwing their belongings and jumping from second-story windows to escape the gunfire.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s top agency for criminal investigations, said the gunman used a hunting rifle. He was not immediately identified, and authorities did not say whether he was a student at Perm, or another college.

Valery Gribakin, a spokesman for the Russian national guard, told the state-run news agency TASS, that "the citizen who started the shooting in Perm had a shotgun legally." 

President Vladimir Putin condemned the shootings and offered condolences to the families of the victims.

"This is a huge disaster, and not only for families who have lost their children, but for the entire country," Putin said. "Law enforcement agencies will do everything necessary to investigate this terrible crime, to find out the reasons for what happened, and the regional and federal authorities will take all necessary steps to support the victims and the families of the killed children."

Monday's violence was the second shooting this year at a Russian educational facility.

In May, a 19-year-old opened fire at his former school in the central city of Kazan, killing nine people. Investigators said that gunman had a brain disorder, but was deemed fit to be granted a license for a semi-automatic shotgun used in the attack.

A traffic officer described the scene in a video released by the Interior Ministry.

“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,” said officer Konstantin Kalinin.

The Investigative Committee initially reported eight people had been killed, but then revised the number to six. The Health Ministry said 19 of the injured had been shot. It was not clear how the others were hurt. 

Gun ownership is tightly controlled in Russia, but licenses are available for hunting weapons.

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