Posted on 04/23/2013 1:38:09 AM PDT by klpt
A man has shot six people dead, including two schoolgirls, after robbing a hunting shop in the western Russian city of Belgorod, officials said.
Police said their main suspect was Sergei Pomazun, a former convict in his 30s, and said the attacker fled in a car.
Amateur footage posted online showed corpses lying covered on the pavement of the city's main street, indicating that he had shot at least some of his victims as he escaped.
Onlookers gathered nearby in the centre of Belgorod, a city near the Ukrainian border about 400 miles(650km) south of Moscow.
Police released a picture of their main suspect – a brown-haired man who was released from prison in 2012.
Five people died on the spot, and another one died later of gunshot wounds, municipal authorities said. Two girls, aged 14 and 16, were among the victims, they added.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
This guy had better not be with the NRA (Nova Russkiya Anarkists).
Unless I am mistaken Russia has very strict gun control laws, almost a ban on private ownership (except of course for the ruling class).
Not exactly. The Russian gun ownership law is much more restrictive than the US's, while more relaxed than the European ones.
As for this man, he broke open his father's gun safe and stole two smoothbore guns (a semi-auto Saiga and an Izh O/U) which he used to rob the hunting shop. He got a Vepr-308 rifle and 40 bullets there. Therefore you can conclude that rifles and guns are legal for private ownership in Russia.
But handguns are forbidden, except for those firing low-velocity rubber bullets.
They have very strict controls, but the controls have loosened a little after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Also previous night neighbours heard noise from the father's apartment. When the police came there they found an gun safe broken open, probably with angle grinder.
The shooter
You watch. Russia will loosen restrictions on guns and reform the criminal justice system. Upsidedown world.
What about reports of another suspect?
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/5-slain-in-belgorod-shooting-spree-video/479048.html
The shooter arrived in a luxury BMW X5 car and later fled in it with a companion, who might have acted as the driver, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported.
I haven't found a report on this, there's just some user's online comment on the Komsomolskaya Pravda's website, that a female driver, whose car was hit by the shooter's BMW, saw two people in the car.
There is an Interfax headline: "TWO MEN ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE OPENED FIRE ON PEOPLE IN BELGOROD - INTERIOR MINISTRY DEPARTMENT" dated April 22, 16:03, so there is a report from a worthy source on this. Unfortunately, the contents is available for subscribers only. Found on the page
Thank you for the information. Some added questions, if you know:
—Neighbors and his parents said Sergey Pomazun was violent. Was this AFTER he had been released from prison, or was he already displaying these symptoms BEFORE he was incarcerated?
—What was the motive? Robbery gone bad? Revenge for a previous insult by the store clerks days earlier? Or because somebody had scratched up his car in the parking lot, as another source said?
—Have there been any statements/actions by politicians demanding that gun laws be made more strict?
I think it suspicious that Pomazun had been mentally ‘treated’ in prison. I study many of these meass shootings, and always FIRST comes the sessions with a psychiatrist, THEN comes the mega-violence.
The complaints were after he was released from prison (that was in December, 2012). At least they reports them as 'recent'
—What was the motive?
Unclear. Some psychologists claim his behaviour is typical for a drug user of certain type. They called such drugs 'salts'. The press reported the shop clerks had refused either selling him ammo (no permit) or giving money ("I'm the owner's son" case).
Have there been any statements/actions by politicians demanding that gun laws be made more strict
No, at least by this time.The father broke no gun handling rules anyway.
I think it suspicious that Pomazun had been mentally ‘treated’ in prison. I study many of these meass shootings, and always FIRST comes the sessions with a psychiatrist, THEN comes the mega-violence.
Press reports differ. I saw one claiming that Pomazun did his last term in a mental institution, not in a prison since he had been declared insane by the court.
While being questioned, he said he had shot "not at children but at hell".
Thank you for the response. If this was a “Manipulated Shooting Event,” as I suspect, keep your eyes open for these characteristics:
—The ‘uniform’ of all black/camoflage/trenchcoat look
—Use of psychotropic drugs like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs), prescribed by a shrink or ‘counselor’
—The lack of any believable motive for the shooter’s acts
—Evidence of professional training on the part of the shooter, where the victims have all been shot in the head or in the torso, or where there is a very high proportion of hits vs shots fired, or where witnesses noted military-style gun handling skills.
—The involvement of the Federal authorities in the response or post-shooting investigation, despite it being a purely local crime.
—The connection of the accused to the military, even if just seeing a recruiter.
—Extra guns and ammo found in the auto and at the home of the shooter is a common element in these shootings. This is to convince the public of the guilt of the accused. Closely related to this is an excessive quantity of ammo carried by the suspect, to impress the public of gunman’s homicidal intent.
—The strange lack of emotion on the face of the gunman during the shooting, often described as robotic or vacant. Often coupled with an inability to remember the event.
—New laws in the wake of the shooting to further restrict the freedom to own firearms, and/or onerous new ‘security’ regulations.
Well, Russia has very strict gun controls... so.... SO MUCH FOR THAT.
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