Serviceman kills 3 colleagues at shooting range in Amur region, flees with weapons
MOSCOW. Sept 29 (Interfax-AVN) - A military officer and two other servicemen have been killed and two other people injured in a shooting incident at a range in the Amur region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"An officer and two servicemen sustained fatal wounds in the incident, and two other servicemen have been taken to a medical institution, where they are being provided with all necessary aid," the ministry said in a statement shared with Interfax-AVN on Friday.
"The shooter fled the range territory with weapons," it said.
The military command and the law enforcement agencies have taken measures to find and detain the runaway soldier.
The defense minister has dispatched a commission led by the chief of staff of the Ground Forces to the scene to conduct an inquiry, the Defense Ministry said.
"All possible theories, including the serviceman's nervous breakdown, are being analyzed as possible causes of the incident," it said.
The incident took place at a range in the Amur region on Friday. "During a planned night shooting practice, a serviceman fired an assault rifle burst at a group of servicemen waiting to go up to the firing line," it said.
The administration of the town of Belogorsk reported that the incident took place in the Transportny neighborhood.
"A serviceman shot and killed two soldiers and an officer at a shooting range. He also injured one more serviceman, and he is now at the hospital. The shooter stole an assault rifle with several magazines and fled the scene, and he is now on the run,"
Belogorsk city administration head Stanislav Melyukov reported the incident to Amur region Governor Alexander Kozlov. "At the governor's instructions, security measures at schools, boiler stations, the city hospital, and administrative buildings have been stepped up. Special measures are also being taken to avoid hostage-taking situations. If the fugitive with a firearm is not found in the near future, all city events in Belogorsk, including those dealing with Day of the Elderly, would be canceled," it said.