Russia: Shooting in Perm University leaves 8 dead

In Russia, a student opened fire on a university campus in central Russia on Monday killing at least eight people, investigators said, in the second mass shooting at an education facility this year. Russia's Investigative Committee said several people were also injured in the attack at Perm State University and that the suspect had been wounded while being detained. Students and staff of the university locked themselves in rooms, and the university urged those who could leave the campus to do so. Perm is about 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) east of Moscow, with a population of about 1 million. The university enrolls some 12,000 students.

 Russia has relatively few school shootings due to normally tight security in education facilities and because of difficulty of buying firearms legally, although it is possible to register hunting rifles. State media played amateur footage reportedly taken during the attack showing an individual dressed in black tactical clothing, including a helmet, carrying a weapon and walking through the campus. Videos circulating on social media showed students throwing belongings from windows from buildings on campus before jumping to flee the shooter.

В Пермском госуниверситете стрельба. Студенты покидают здание, прыгая через окна pic.twitter.com/Aizx2v12M4

— Эль Мюрид (@K25_SPb) September 20, 2021

The last such deadly attack took place in May 2021, when a 19-year-old gunman opened fire in his old school in the central Russian city of Kazan, killing nine people. On the day of that attack -- one of the worst in recent Russian history -- President Vladimir Putin called for a review of gun control laws.