A security guard at a Moscow synagogue was wounded Saturday evening when a man armed with a gun and a gasoline canister attempted to break into the Jewish institution and set it alight, Russian media reported.
Initial reports said the guard was in serious condition after being shot in the head and chest while trying to stop the assailant from entering the Choral Synagogue.
The attacker was arrested by police .
Some media reports said he may be mentally unstable, though police have yet to give any official word on his motives.
The assailant arrived during a Sabbath prayer service, when about 150 worshipers were inside, and threatened to burn the building down, while also demanding to meet Moscow Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt.
A man (right), possibly the suspected attacker, is restrained by a policeman at the scene of Saturday s attack on a Moscow synagogue that injured a security guard (YouTube screenshot)
Several security guards blocked him from entering and took him across the street, at which point he shot one of them.
The other security guards then held him down until police arrived.
‘ , ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ https://t.co/4bBXsGtepT pic.twitter.com/KZT4QZyXUv12
(@mediazzzona) October 1, 20163
Local media identified the assailant as Ivan Lebedev, 40, from the Moscow region.
References
- ^ https://t.co/4bBXsGtepT (t.co)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/KZT4QZyXUv (t.co)
- ^ October 1, 2016 (twitter.com)