Gunman kills 19, wounds 53 at school in Crimea

Shooter killed himself in library after rampage

MOSCOW — An 18-year-old student strode into his vocational school in Crimea, a hoodie covering his blond hair, then pulled out a shotgun and opened fire Wednesday, killing 19 students and wounding more than 50 others before killing himself.

It wasn’t clear what prompted Vladislav Roslyakov, described as a shy loner, to go on the rampage. A security camera image carried by Russian media showed him calmly walking down the stairs of the school in the Black Sea city of Kerch, the shotgun in his gloved hand.

“He was walking around and shooting students and teachers in cold blood,” said Sergei Aksyonov, the regional leader in Crimea.

Officials said the fourth-year student killed himself in the library of the Kerch Polytechnic College after the attack. His mother, a nurse, was helping to treat victims at a local hospital after the shootings, unaware yet that her son was accused of the rampage and was already dead.

The bloodbath raised questions about school security in the country; the Kerch Polytechnic College had only a front desk with no security guards.

By the end of the day, Crimean authorities said the death toll stood at 19, apparently not including the shooter. Fifty-three people were wounded, including 12 in serious condition.

Officials at first reported a gas explosion, then said an explosive device had ripped through the cafeteria.

Witnesses, however, reported that victims were being killed by gunfire.

The Investigative Committee said the explosive device rigged with shrapnel went off in the lunchroom and Sergei Melikov, a deputy chief of the Russian National Guard, said it was homemade. Officials later found a second explosive device and destroyed it.