Shooting at Russia’s Perm State University leaves 6 dead, 28 hurt

MOSCOW - A student opened fire Monday at a university in Russia, leaving six people dead and 28 hurt, before being shot by police and detained, officials said.

Beyond saying that he was a student, authorities offered no further information on his identity or a possible motive.

During the attack, students and staff at Perm State University locked themselves in rooms, and video posted on Russian news sites showed some students jumping out of second-story windows.

In some footage, a black-clad, helmeted figure could be seen striding on a campus sidewalk cradling a long-barreled weapon. Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country's top body for criminal probes, said the gunman fired a smoothbore hunting weapon. That could indicate he used a shotgun.

The Investigative Committee said six people were killed, revising down its earlier figure of eight dead. No explanation was given for the change.

Women react as students evacuate a building of the Perm State University campus on Sept. 20, 2021, in Perm, Perm Krai, Russia following a shooting. (Photo by OLGA YUSHKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)

A traffic police unit was the first to reach the scene, and the suspect opened fire on them, according to the Interior Ministry. He was wounded when police returned fire and then was disarmed, the ministry said. The gunman also was armed with a knife, it said.

Although firearms laws are strict in Russia, many people obtain permits for hunting weapons. News reports cited officials as saying the suspect had a permit for a pump-action shotgun, although it was not clear if it was for the weapon used.

Despite the firearms regulations, mass shootings take place. In May, a gunman opened fire at a school in the city of Kazan, killing seven students and two teachers, with a registered weapon. A student at a college in Russia-annexed Crimea killed 20 students and himself in 2018.

The university, which has 12,000 students enrolled, said about 3,000 people were on the campus at the time of the shooting. The school is in the city of Perm, which is about 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) east of Moscow with a population of about 1 million.

The Investigative Committee said 28 people were injured, some of them hospitalized, but did not give details. The Health Ministry said 19 of them were shot; it was not clear how the others were injured.