The soldier—identified by military officials as Private Anton Makarov—killed an officer and two others during an altercation at the Baltimore military airfield near Voronezh on Monday, AFP reported.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, released a statement detailing the incident: “In order to get hold of a service weapon Makarov killed an officer with an axe,” the committee said.
Once in possession of the weapon, he shot at fellow troops, killing two other soldiers and wounding one before fleeing. Authorities are currently trying to apprehend Makarov, AFP reported. Investigators said he fled the scene, though Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) noted that early reports said the shooter had barricaded himself inside the base.
RFE/RL carried a statement from the Western Military District’s press service which said: “A soldier on duty…attacked officers who had arrived to check the on-duty shift, took a gun from one of the officers, and fled the site. Three servicemen sustained lethal injuries as a result of the attack.”
The Western Military District statement added that “the commanders of the military unit, acting together with law enforcement agencies, are working to track down and detain the assailant.”
Doctors at a military hospital in Voronezh said the wounded soldier was being treated there and was in intensive care, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported.
An anonymous source told the Interfax news agency that the altercation occurred during an inspection. The soldier “grabbed a handgun” from the officer’s holster and fired, Interfax said. The officer killed was a major, according to AFP.
Shootings at Russian military bases are not uncommon. A combination of conscription plus a culture of hazing and bullying has led to similar incidents in the past. Watchdogs have pressed for reforms to the brutal hazing culture in recent years, which according to AFP have improved the situation.
But such incidents still occur. Last October, for example, Private Ramil Shamsutdinov shot dead eight fellow troops and wounded two others at a base in Siberia. Two of the eight killed were officers.
Shamsutdinov opened fire straight after being given an AK74 service rifle. A Spetsnaz special forces team responded within minutes. Shamsutdinov surrendered to them with no resistance.
The Russian ministry of defense said Shamsutdinov had suffered a nervous breakdown, but the soldier’s father blamed an abusive hazing culture perpetuated by officers and fellow troops. He said Shamsutdinov did not regret his actions, claiming: “Either they’d kill me or I’d kill them.”
