As many as eight people have been gunned down and several injured after an eighteen-year-old student opened fire at Perm State Research University in western Siberia, Russia.
The attacker has been identified as one Timur Bekmansurov, a student of the same university. As per a Russian news agency report, he has been neutralized by the security agencies and a hunt for his probable accomplices is on.
“One of the attackers has been neutralized, we are checking the information about possible accomplices. Students could have mixed something up out of fright, shots have already stopped,” said the governor.
#BREAKING : The shooter at #Perm state university was wounded during exchange of fire between security forces and him. He had barricaded himself at building no.8. pic.twitter.com/3p4e29ktP7
— Sushmit Patil Сушмит Патил सुश्मित पाटिल 🇮🇳 (@PatilSushmit) September 20, 2021
Visuals of the attack
While the students and staff locked themselves in the rooms, the university urged those who could leave the campus to do so. In a bid to escape, several students were recorded jumping off the university building window.
another angle of the same building at Perm State University; students jumping out of windows. (video from @bazabazon) pic.twitter.com/AvLm1OFg44
— Mike Eckel (@Mike_Eckel) September 20, 2021
A dozen have reportedly been injured either by gunfire or by falling from windows.
Shooting at Russia’s Perm state university by shooter named Timur using shotgun. Shooter is detained
— Enemy Slayer (@EnemySlayer24_7) September 20, 2021
Reports of multiple casualty . pic.twitter.com/tpge1qdjgY
A crisis room has been created in the university while the Health Ministry informed that nine ambulances have been deployed at the university.
The attacker’s plan
A local news website in Russia has published some unconfirmed social media posts suspected to be made by the shooter. In these posts, the shooter described his plans and motivation for the attack in detail.
The post read, “What happened was not a terrorist attack (at least from a legal point of view). I was not a member of an extremist organization, I was nonreligious and apolitical. Nobody knew what I was going to do, I carried out all these actions myself.”
#Russia: An armed attack took place in #Perm State University (#PSU) —allegedly carried out by 18-year-old Timur Bekmansurov.
— War Noir (@war_noir) September 20, 2021
His weapon appears to be a standard 12G shotgun —likely Target X7 or a similar model, which is easily accessible. pic.twitter.com/wqzCNImQhT
He also confessed that he was “overflowing with hate” and had been planning the shooting for a long time.