8 Killed, Others Injured As 18-Year-Old Opens Fire On Campus

No fewer than eight dead bodies have been counted after a teenager reportedly opened fire, shooting sporadically at a Russian University.

The university in the Russian city of Perm which has 12,000 students enrolled, was disorganized after the gunman said to be 18 began his shooting spree.

The horrible incident ended leaving at least eight people dead while dozens survived with degrees of injuries.

About 3,000 people were reportedly on the campus at the time of the attack. The independent Russian news agency Interfax, however, confirmed that the gunman was neutralized.

The Russian Investigative Committee said the suspect had been identified as a student, and that he was “wounded” while being arrested and is receiving treatment in the hospital.

A number of students and staff said they locked themselves in rooms during the attack.

An investigation revealed the suspect is a student of the varsity. He is said to have earlier posted a photo of himself posing with a rifle, helmet and ammunition on social media.

“I’ve thought about this for a long time, it’s been years and I realised the time had come to do what I dreamt of,” a social media post attributed to him read. The post was, however, taken down after some moments.

The gunman reportedly indicated his actions had nothing to do with politics or religion but were motivated by hatred.

As at the time the report is given, the university has urged students and staff who could leave the campus to do so without hesitation.

Russia’s TASS news agency quoted police as saying that some students jumped out of windows of a building during the incident. Some people in the building used chairs to stop the gunman from entering their classrooms.

“There were about 60 people in the classroom. We closed the door and barricaded it with chairs,” student Semyon Karyakin told Reuters.

According to the Health Ministry, at least 24 people were hurt, 19 from bullet wounds. Meanwhile, forensic investigators have been sent to the university to assist with the police investigation.

Although 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.

Following the varsity shooting spree, the legal age for buying firearms was reportedly raised from 18 to 21, but the new law is yet to come into force.