Ryazan shooting: Anton Franchikov Russian man from Yelatma shoots dead five neighbors for speaking loudly outside his home during coronavirus lockdown.
A man in Russia has shot dead five people, described as his neighbors – for talking too loudly outside his house late in the evening during the coronavirus lockdown.
Russian media identified a doctor’s husband, Anton Franchikov, 32, with a history of domestic violence as the suspect.
Police said the shooting happened in the village of Yelatma, in the Ryazan region about 200km (124 miles) south-east of Moscow, circa 10p.m, Saturday evening, Russian media reported, citing investigators.
Yelatma, a settlement in Ryazan region has a population of 3,100.
A local official linked the mass killing to tension caused by the Covid-19 lockdown.
Two of the victims were identified as a 22 and 24 year old newly wed couple:
Investigators say Franchikov initially complained to the group from his balcony, and an argument broke out. The un-named man then responded by walking up to his balcony and opening fire with a hunting rifle.
He allegedly shot three dead on the street, then ran downstairs in his block of flats to shoot two others dead as they sought to hide in an apartment, according to police.
The four men and one woman ‘died of their injuries on the spot’ at around 2200 on Saturday, the Investigative Committee said. The victims ranged from 22 to 31 years old.
Identified as part of the dead were newly weds, Evgeny and Kristina Tabunov, aged, aged 24 and 22. Also identified as part of the fatalities were, Ilya Kondrakov, 26, Viktor Kapitanov, 24 and Maksim Ukhov, 31.
‘He tried to escape, but he didn’t make it, and was stopped by the police,’ said a law enforcement spokesman the UK’s mirror reports.
Franchikov, a medic who ‘on paternity leave,’ tried to escape but officers eventually arrested him.
The man’s apartment has been searched and the weapon seized. Of note the weapon was legally registered.
‘The second week of quarantine plays badly on people’s psychology.’
A video released (see above) by the Investigative Committee showed case workers with the Forensic Science Center taking pictures of the scene of the tragedy. In addition, video shows a wall with five huge holes after firing.
According to local media reports, the suspect was sitting at home with the children, his doctor wife at work. The suspected killer himself worked in a local neuropsychiatric dispensary. Journalists claim that he himself was, ‘registered with a psychiatrist and was very aggressive’.
Local administration head Grigory Danilov told RT: ‘This was a conflict between neighbours which developed into a shooting.’
‘They exchanged words and he ended up picking up a rifle.
‘The second week of quarantine plays badly on people’s psychology.
‘People miss having communication.’
The official added: ‘I cannot say that he is a stupid or a sick man.
‘I know that he is a married man, he has children.’
Under Russia’s self-isolation rules, people are supposed to remain at home, and are official on an enforced holiday ordered by President Vladimir Putin.
Investigators were checking claims that the suspect had a history of domestic violence and posting extreme material on social media.
The suspect’s charge of murdering two or more people would carry a potential sentence of life in prison under Russian law, the BBC reports.
