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Former Cop Blows Self Up With Grenade

Police officers examining the body of Yevgeny Yurov, who exploded a grenade on Yurlovsky Proyezd on Saturday. Mikhail Voskresensky

A retired police officer blew himself up with a hand grenade outside a Pyatyorochka supermarket in northeastern Moscow on Saturday.

No other casualties were reported, and police ruled out a terrorist attack.

Yevgeny Yurov took care that no bystanders were in the vicinity of the blast on Yurlovsky Proyezd, telling the sole witness, Dmitry Chuvin, 20, to either film him with a cell phone camera or get out of sight, tabloid news web site Lifenews.ru reported.

Chuvin opted to drive away from Yurov, who then set off the grenade he pressed to his stomach, the report said.

Moskovsky Komsomolets said the Irkutsk region native, who died on the spot after the blast, was 41, while Lifenews.ru put his age at 42.

A family quarrel could have been the reason for the suicide because Yurov, who was prone to bouts of jealousy, had a lengthy argument with his wife, Nadezhda, 39, hours prior to his suicide, Nadezhda told Lifenews.ru.

Yurov left the house after the argument and spent about three hours outside before taking his life, she said.

But Moskovsky Komsomolets said employment problems might have been behind the decision because Yurov was in fact a former traffic police officer who failed to find a new job after retiring for unspecified reasons in 2009.

Yurov called his son on his cell phone shortly before the blast, telling him: "Now you are the man of the family. I promise there will be no victims," Lifenews.ru reported.

Yurov also legally owned a hunting gun, which Interfax said he had in his car at the time of his death. It remained unclear from where Yurov obtained the grenade. Police were conducting a check into the incident but have not opened an official criminal case.

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