‘Student shoots 17’ in attack on college

40 INJURED IN CRIMEA RAMPAGE

A STUDENT has attacked a vocational college in Crimea in a shooting rampage that killed 17 other students and left more than 40 people wounded, before killing himself, according to Russian officials.

Comments by Sergei Aksyonov, the regional leader in Crimea, were the latest in a series of explanations by officials on what happened at Kerch Polytechnic College in the Black Sea city of Kerch.

Russian officials at first reported a gas explosion, then said an explosive device ripped through the college canteen at lunchtime in a suspected terrorist attack.

But witnesses reported at least some of the victims were killed in an attack by a gunman or gunmen.

Mr Aksyonov said on TV that the student, a local man acting alone, killed himself after the attack.

The Investigative Committee identified the attacker as Vladislav Roslyakov, 18. It said he was caught on security cameras entering the college with a rifle and firing at students.

The committee said all the victims died of gunshot wounds, contrasting with previous statements saying they had wounds resulting from an explosion.

After the attack, local officials declared a state of emergency on the Black Sea peninsula that they annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

They also beefed up security at a new 12-mile bridge that links the peninsula with Russia.