19 KILLED IN TEEN’S SCHOOL MASSACRE
He sets off blast then stalks students
NINETEEN people were killed and more than 50 wounded when a student went on a gun rampage at a college in Crimea yesterday.
Vladislav Roslyakov, 18, set off a homemade nail bomb in the campus canteen, then stalked the corridors blasting victims with a rifle.
After a 15-minute spree, he killed himself in the library of the building.
One shaken college official described the carnage, saying: “There were lots of corpses, corpses of kids.”
Russian officials initially reported a gas blast, then said an explosive device had ripped through the canteen during lunch in a suspected terrorist attack.
But they eventually reclassified the atrocity as “mass murder”.
The canteen blast did not kill anyone but it caused horrific injuries and blew out the windows. Photos later emerged of Roslyakov’s body in the library of the technical college, in the eastern city of Kerch. At least one further explosive device was found in his bag. Crimea leader Sergei Aksyonov confirmed that the gunman had committed suicide.
Students said Roslyakov was driven to kill by his hatred of the college and he had vowed revenge on teachers. He is said to have amassed a cache of weapons by using a valid hunting licence.
All of his victims died of gunshot wounds, the Russian Investigative Committee confirmed.
One student, Igor Zakharevsky, was in the canteen at the time of the blast. He said: “I was at the epicentre of the explosion, at the entrance, near the buffet. Then I heard several shots.”
It’s believed 12 victims are in a serious condition in hospital.
Officials had declared a state of emergency in Crimea, which was annexed from Ukraine in 2014. They also beefed up security at a 12-mile bridge that links the Black Sea peninsula with Russia. Military units were deployed around the college and schools were evacuated. It’s believed Roslyakov’s father, who is separated from the gunman’s mother, was taken into custody for questioning as his home was searched. President Vladimir Putin described the attack as a “tragic event” and offered his condolences to the victims’ relatives. Three days of mourning have been declared in Crimea.