Russian authorities say 17 students and faculty members at a college in Crimea have been killed, many of them teenagers, in a bomb-and-gun attack they say was carried out by a student who fatally shot himself after the assault.
At least 50 others were injured in the October 17 attack at a polytechnic college in the city of Kerch, the only major outbreak of violence in Crimea since Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.
News of the bloodbath unfolded quickly and chaotically, with some initial reports saying it was a gas blast and authorities later saying that it was a bomb and that they were treating it as a terrorist act.
But Russia’s main investigative agency later said authorities believe an 18-year-old student at the college rampaged through the building with a rifle, shooting students and faculty members.
Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said authorities believe the suspect, fourth-year student Vladislav Roslyakov, fatally shot himself after the attack.
She said investigators had recategorized the probe into the attack as a case of murder rather than terrorism. There was no immediate word on a possible motive.
The city of Kerch has an active Jewish community with prayers, Torah and chassidus classes and programs throughout the year.
They are assisted and guided by the Federation of Jewish communities in Russia and the neighboring Chabad Shluchim in Crimea – Rabbi Binyomin Wolff of Sevastopol and Rabbi Yechezkel Lazar of Simferopol.
An official from the Jewish community told that a male Jewish youngster who studies in the college was meant to be there at the time of the attack. He happened to be late this morning and was saved.
Rabbis have expressed their shock at the attack and are sending condolences to the victims and their families.
