Crimea bloodbath: Terrorist attack on Kerch college involved masked gunmen shooting at people, witnesses tell RT - UPDATES

RT
Wed, 17 Oct 2018 11:51 UTC

© Sputnik / Catherine Keizo

Medical workers treat injured people outside a college building in Crimean city of Kerch, Russia.

Two eyewitnesses in Kerch college have told RT there was intensive gunfire around the time a bomb explosion in a college, with multiple masked gunmen running around the building and killing students.

"There was a blast, all the glasses shattered. And then armed people started running around, opening doors and shooting at everyone," a college teacher told the investigators, according to an RT source in the law enforcement.

A student told RT he saw masked men armed with assault rifles running out from a toiler room just after the blast.

"There were many of them, but I can't say how many. They shot at students and teachers, everyone in their way. I doubt they hit many, I saw one or two people. They were also tossing explosives," the student said.

© RT

Another college employee, Natalya, who spoke to RT after being treated for an injury in hospital, said the gunmen probably got in from the back door.

© BBC

"The fence there can be easily climbed over. There is no camera either, no secure door," she said.

The blast happened on the ground floor of the building while the gunfire happened on the second floor, witnesses said.

According to preliminary reports, the attack started with a powerful blast of an improvised explosive device, which was filled with metal fragments to increase lethality. The attack resulted in at least 13 people killed and 50 others injured.

A CCTV image showing a man holding a large gun while coming down a stairwell has surfaced on social media, with reports saying it shows the suspect behind the terrorist attack on a college in the Crimean city of Kerch.

The photo was first posted on the Telegram breaking news channel Mash. It said that it shows the terrorist in the Wednesday Kerch attack.

"A photo of a terrorist. This man in Kerch is now looking for everything. He went with a gun to school, opened fire and blew up a bomb. If you see him on the street-leave now and call the police."

Accompanying the image was a warning to not approach the suspect and immediately alert the police on sight.

"The second photo of the shooter who organized the attack in Kerch. Made in college territory before the attack. In the building Politeha he went in the same clothes, there-dressed."

Comment: Excerpt from Sputnik's live update feed:

• 14:46 College Director on Blast in Kerch "Five minutes after I left, some people burst in. They blew up the lobby, all the windows were shattered. They were running around throwing firecrackers. Then, armed with assault rifles, they were running around the second floor, opening doors to the classrooms and killing everyone who came their way... a real terrorist attack! Like in Beslan! I would have been dead by now because they shot dead all my people, children and the staff... I don't know," the college director told local media. According to the website Kerch.com.ru, the explosion occurred on the first floor and the shooting took place on the second. More than 10 people were killed and over 30 injured. All medics, emergency personnel and police have been scrambled to the site. With ambulances in short supply, the wounded are being taken in private cars. According to preliminary information, it was a terrorist act.
• 14:43 Death Toll from Explosion in Crimea Rises to 13 - Russian Investigative Committee"At the moment, there is information that 13 were killed and about 50 wounded, most of them teenagers. The information about those injured is being specified," Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said.
• 14:39 Three Days of Mourning to be Held in Kerch Following the Explosion - Crimean Head Aksenov"I express the most sincere and deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed in the explosion at the Kerch Polytechnic College. Shocked by this terrible tragedy, I share your pain and grief. Three days of mourning will be declared in Crimea in connection with this tragedy," Sergei Aksyonov wrote on Facebook.
• 14:21 Blast in Kerch Was a Terrorist Act - Russian Investigative CommitteeAccording to investigators, an unidentified explosive device filled with metal objects detonated in a cafeteria at a tech college in Kerch. The committee has also begun interviewing witnesses and examining surveillance camera footage."Criminal proceedings have been initiated by the Russian Investigative Committee over the death of people as a result of an explosion at a Kerch college," the press service for the committee said on WhatsApp, citing spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko.

Update 1: RT reports:

The suspect in the Kerch college attack has been identified as a 22-year-old student. He committed suicide after killing 18 people and injuring dozens with gunfire and a blast the head of the Republic of Crimea has said.

"The suspected murderer shot himself," Sergey Aksenov told the media. "He was a senior student of the same college."

The official added that the number of people killed in the attack, which is reportedly mostly made up of students, has risen to 18. Earlier, witnesses claimed there were multiple masked attackers involved, but Aksenov didn't mention any possible accomplices.

Update 2: Sputnik reports:

A deadly blast has rocked a college in Crimea's Kerch, leaving at least 10 people dead and 50 more injured. The blast has been classified by the Russian Investigative Committee as a terrorist attack. According to eyewitnesses, it was an explosive device that went off on the first floor and gunfire was heard.

"I was driving by while on other business and heard an explosion. I stopped and saw that a crowd of people had begun gathering near the college. I approached to see what was going on. There was already a lot of law enforcement agencies, ambulances, traffic police, military personnel, firefighters... They carried away the victims," witness Alexander told Sputnik.

"There was no central entrance, it was taken out, and there were no windows on the first floor. Now, various rumors are circulating about what happened, whether it was a terrorist attack or gas explosion. There is plenty of evidence that it was not gas, but rather an explosive device," Alexander added.

Speaking to Sputnik Government of the Republic of Crimea, Deputy Head of the Administration of the City of Kerch, Dilyaver Melgaziev said that a task group is working at the scene.

"It will be possible to say something once the mission has been completed. We've taken all the necessary measures. Ambulances are ready, health care institutions are ready, social workers and psychologists are all in place. The administration's emergency response team has been deployed. Everything that's necessary under the priority plan has been done," Dilyaver Melgaziev said.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the death toll in the deadly blast in the Kerch college has risen to 13. Up to 50 people were injured. The local website Krech.com.ru reports that the explosion occurred on the first floor and the shooting took place on the second.

"Five minutes after I left, some people burst in. They blew up the lobby, all the windows were shattered. They were running around throwing firecrackers. Then, armed with assault rifles, they were running around the second floor, opening doors to the classrooms and killing everyone who came their way... a real terrorist attack! Like in Beslan! I would have been dead by now because they shot dead all my people, children and the staff... I don't know," Olga Grebennikova, college director told Krech.com.ru.

Update 3: RT reports the attack is now not being considered a terrorist act:

Russia's Investigative Committee said that it now treats the attack on a college in the Crimean city of Kerch as murder and not a terror attack as it was classified previously.

The preliminary examination of the bodies of the victims indicates that they died of gunshot wounds.

Nobody was killed by the blast that rocked the college earlier on Wednesday, the Investigative Committee said.

The attacker was identified as 18-year-old Vladislav Roslyakov.Roslyakov, who was one of the students at the college, was caught by CCTV cameras with a rifle in his hands. His body with a gunshot wound was later discovered on the college's premises.

"The investigation believes that this young man shot the people in the college and then committed suicide," the Committee said.

The new finding led to the criminal case being reclassified from terrorism to murder of two or more people, it added.

The Investigative Committee said 17 people were killed and dozens injured in the attack.

Update 4: RT reports the student believed to be responsible for the attack has been identified:

The suspect in the Kerch college attack has been identified as a student. He committed suicide after killing 17 people and injuring dozens with gunfire and a blast.

"The suspected murderer shot himself," Sergey Aksenov told the media. "He was a senior student of the same college."

The official added that the number of people killed in the attack, which is reportedly mostly made up of students, has risen to 18, apparently including the suspect. Earlier, witnesses claimed there were multiple masked attackers involved, but Aksenov didn't mention any possible accomplices.

Russia's investigative committee has named the suspect as Vladislav Roslyakov and said he was 18, rather than 22 as first reported. It added the incident was now considered a multiple homicide rather than a terrorist attack.

The violence in a Kerch polytechnic college was initially reported as a gas leak blast. It later became clear that an improvised explosive device was responsible for the powerful explosion, which happened in the canteen of the college on the first floor. The agency said the preliminary on-site investigation revealed that the improvised explosive device was filled with shrapnel.

This is the first major attack on Crimean soil since the region joined with Russia in 2014 following a popular referendum. With mass school shootings uncommon in Russia, the massacre has been compared to the tragic 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis and siege, in which 333 people were killed.

In the aftermath of the blast, security measures were ramped up across the peninsula. Police have sent additional patrols to the Crimean bridge that connects Crimea with mainland Russia, while local authorities have declared an emergency. The Emergencies Ministry deployed three medevac helicopters and a transport plane to help the injured.

The Russian government has conveyed its condolences to the families of the victims, while psychological help is being provided to people who lost their loved ones in the attack. A three-day period of mourning has been declared in Crimea, starting on Wednesday.