Ufa (Russia): Four Indian students were among those seriously injured after a 15-year-old youth, allegedly linked to a banned neo-Nazi outfit, went on a stabbing spree at a university dormitory in Russia’s Bashkortostan Republic on Saturday.
Six people, including the Indian students, were injured in the attack, as reported by TOI.
It has been reported that the attacker shouted nationalist slogans about the Holocaust and drew a Nazi symbol using the victims’ blood.
Preliminary reports claim that the teenager, armed with a knife, entered a dormitory of the State Medical University in Ufa and attacked students living there.
There were scenes of panic and chaos inside the hostel, eyewitnesses reported. “There was blood all around,” Ren TV reported, showing footage of the injured being rushed to hospitals in ambulances.
The attacker was linked to extremist ideology, the Baza channel claimed. “He belonged to the banned NS/WP neoNazi organisation. During the frenzy of attack, he was shouting nationalist slogans about (the) Holocaust,” it said, sharing a photo of a Nazi symbol drawn on a wall with the blood of the victims.
The attacker allegedly continued to resist even after police intervened. “The attacker resisted arrest, during which two police officers were stabbed. Furthermore, the suspect also inflicted bodily harm on himself,” interior ministry spokesperson Maj General Irina Volk was quoted as saying by RTVI.com webportal, as cited by PTI.
The attacker has also been admitted to a local children’s hospital in serious condition, according to the Baza telegram channel.
The Indian Embassy termed it an “unfortunate incident” and confirmed that “several persons including four Indian students have been injured.” It said it is in touch with Russian authorities and that officials from the Indian Consulate in Kazan are travelling to Ufa to provide assistance to the injured students.
Authorities in Ufa, the capital of the Bashkortostan Republic located about 1,200 km east of Moscow, have launched a high-level probe into the incident.