Shooting in Russian university leaves at least eight dead

MOSCOW, 20 Sep 2021 [Fik/News Sources]: A gunman opened fire in a university in the Russian city of Perm on Monday morning, leaving at least eight people dead and others wounded, according to local health officials.

Other reports meanwhile put the number of deaths at five, citing investigators.

The unidentified perpetrator used a non-lethal gun, according to the Perm State University press service. Students and staff of the university locked themselves in rooms, and the university urged those who could leave the campus to do so.

The gunman was later detained, Russia’s Interior Ministry said, adding that the shooting left some people dead, but not clarifying how many.

The state Tass news agency cited an unnamed source in the law enforcement as saying that some students jumped out of the windows of a building.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether those reported wounded sustained injuries from the shooting or from trying to escape the building.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a murder probe in the aftermath of the incident.