An unknown assailant has opened fire and detonated a bomb outside a police station in southern Russia’s Voronezh region, seriously wounding at least one officer, authorities said early Thursday.
“An unknown person entered the territory of the district police department in Liski, Voronezh region, today at 05:30 [Moscow time], injured a police officer and disappeared by car,” the regional police department said.
“Measures are currently being taken to detain him,” it added in a statement on its website.
Investigative authorities said the officer received a shrapnel wound to his right shin, a non-life-threatening injury.
The Kommersant business daily quoted an unnamed source as saying that the injured officer is in serious condition.
The local online social media group published a wanted poster of the alleged bomber, with one photograph showing him wearing full tactical gear attempting to gain entrance to a building and a second photograph showing his alleged off-road vehicle.
The LifeShot Telegram channel published footage of the attack, showing the attacker getting out of his car, approaching the police station, planting the bomb at the door and running away before it explodes.
According to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency's regional affiliate, the assailant has been identified as a resident of nearby Kamensky district who had allegedly attacked a neighboring family during a conflict, injuring two adults and killing one child. The outlet, citing unnamed sources, identified the police station bomber as an employee of a private security organization.
The Voronezh region chapter of Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, confirmed that the suspect had attacked a neighboring family, killing at least one, before the bombing. It has opened four criminal cases over the incident.
The Voronezh region police department issued an appeal for journalists and bloggers to “refrain from publishing unverified information” that “may negatively affect the course of the search operation.”
