The 18-year-old man is reported to be a graduate of the Orthodox school in Serpukhov
MOSCOW, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Russian teenager has detonated an explosive device at an Orthodox school near a convent outside Moscow, injuring a number of people.
Russia’s interior ministry says an 18-year-old man, a graduate of the school in Serpukhov, tried to blow himself up. He has reportedly survived.
The ministry says a 15-year-old is among the injured. Local media say as many as eight people are hurt.
Local media reported that the man who set off the explosives was in a critical condition in hospital. He has been named as Vladislav Struzhenkov.
Russia’s Interfax news agency cited a source as saying the teen’s animosity towards teachers and students at the school may have motivated the attack.
Another source told Tass news agency the former high school student was planning an attack during morning prayers, but his explosive device went off at the entrance to the monastery.
Prosecutors in the Moscow region have opened an attempted murder investigation – but the motive for the attack is yet to be officially confirmed.
The governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyev, did not specify how many students were injured but said none were in a life-threatening condition.
The Vvedensky Vladychniy Monastery in Serpukhov was founded in 1360. Children between seven and 16 are taught at the school, about 100km south of Moscow.
The Vvedensky Vladychniy convent is an ancient complex on the outskirts of Serpukhov. Its red battlement wall is reminiscent of the Kremlin in Moscow.
The convent school has both female and male pupils and all of them were evacuated soon after the attack.
The Russian Orthodox Church has promised to help the victims. The church has risen in status under President Vladimir Putin, a practising Orthodox Christian.
Incidents at religious facilities are rare in Russia, but the country has seen a rise in teenage attacks on schools in recent years.
In September, a student killed six people and wounded dozens on a university campus in the Urals city of Perm.
In May, a 19-year-old opened fire in his old school in the central city of Kazan, killing nine people. — NNN-AGENCIES
