Explosion injures 10 at Russian supermarket
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — At least 10 people were injured Wednesday by an explosion at a supermarket in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city and the site of a deadly subway bombing this year.
The Investigative Committee, the nation's top investigative agency, said a device containing 200 grams of explosives went off at a storage area for customers’ bags. It said the device was rigged with shrapnel to cause more damage.
No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion.
Alexander Klaus, the chief of the local branch of the Investigative Committee, said 10 people were hospitalized with injuries.
Andrey Kibitov, a spokesman for St. Petersburg’s governor, tweeted that the injured were in satisfactory condition and one had been discharged from the hospital. A criminal investigation was launched. Viktoria Gordeyeva, a St. Petersburg resident who walked past the supermarket shortly after the explosion, said people were afraid to enter other stores in the area.
“There was no panic, but people were reluctant to enter a nearby drug store and a grocery store,” Gordeyeva said.
Marina Bulanova, a doctor, heard the explosion and rushed to the market to help treat anyone who might be hurt. She said ambulance crews had taken those injured to city hospitals by the time she got there.
Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month to thank him for a CIA tip that helped thwart a series of bombings in St. Petersburg, Putin’s home town.
The Federal Security Service said seven suspects linked to the Islamic State group were arrested in connection to the alleged plot.
In April, a suicide bombing in St. Petersburg’s subway left 16 people dead and wounded more than 50. Russian authorities identified the bomber who blew himself up as Akbardzhon Dzhalilov, a 22-year old Kyrgyz-born Russian national.