Russian soldier shoots dead eight comrades at military base

A Russian soldier has shot dead eight fellow soldiers at a military base in eastern Siberia.  It is believed that the soldier - who had served for four months - was a conscript and has since been detained.  The shooting happened in the Transbaikal region on Friday at around 6.20pm local time.  Rossiyskaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper published by the Government of Russia, reports that two further soldiers were injured and remain in a serious condition. It added that the shots were discharged from a service weapon.  According to reports from local outlets the soldier, who is described as a "young man", aimed at his victims' heads before shooting wounded colleagues with what witnesses described as "controlled shots". Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened a murder case against the suspect, whom it identified as 20-year-old Ramil Shamsutdinov. The soldier - whose name has not been released - was said to be guarding the base at the time. Deputy Defence Minister Andrey Kartapolov is flying to the area to investigate the incident. Gorny - Russia The suspected gunman may have been suffering from mental health problems, reports Russian news agency TASS.  According to TASS, the Russian defense ministry said: "At 6:20 p.m. local time on October 25, a serviceman of the repair and maintenance base stationed on the territory of the Trans-Baikal Region opened fire against his fellow servicemen from this service firearm during a change of the guard. "As a result, eight servicemen were killed on the spot while two others received wounds of various severity." The wounded servicemen "were promptly taken to the military hospital where they received necessary qualified medical assistance and their health condition is not life-threatening," the statement says. The Telegraph have contacted the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation for a comment.

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