Sixth Victim Dies in Moscow Office Shooting

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: November 8, 2012 (Issue # 1734)

MOSCOW — The sixth victim in an office shooting in northern Moscow died Thursday from injuries sustained when a troubled colleague went on a killing spree.

Nikita Strelnikov, who was admitted to the capital's Botkin hospital in critical condition Wednesday, passed away in the early hours of Thursday morning, Interfax reported, citing an unnamed medical source.

Investigators have detained and interrogated 30-year-old legal adviser Dmitry Vinogradov, who admitted to attacking his colleagues with a pair of hunting rifles Wednesday morning at the head office of the Rigla pharmaceutical company on Chermyanskaya Ulitsa.

Three men and two women died at the scene of the shooting, and 24-year-old Yaroslava Sergenuk remains in Moscow's Hospital No. 20, news reports said.

According to the Life News tabloid, Vinogradov's victims included 33-year-old Alexander Biruk and 33-year-old Anton Tretyakov, and two women, 25-year-old Yelena Lapshina and 25-year-old Natalya Plekhanova, all of whom were at their desks at the time of the shooting.

On his way out of the office, Vinogradov fired at 33-year-old Denis Moiseyev on a staircase leading to the office. Moiseyev died immediately.

Investigators have opened a criminal case on charges of murdering two or more people, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, according to a statement on their official website.

Five hours before the shooting, Vinogradov published a manifesto on his Vkontakte page expressing contempt for society and calling the human race "a pile of compost."

News reports said Vinogradov went on the rampage because of his unrequited love for a woman, whom he could not forget despite their breakup.

Vinogradov's mother told Vechernyaya Moskva on Wednesday that her only son was "gentle," loved the outdoors and even volunteered with the WWF.

Vinogradov bought the rifles after he had a fight with his ex-girlfriend, his mother said, adding that he had seen psychiatrists who had prescribed him anti-depressants.