Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in an attack allegedly from an improvised explosive device that also injured 32
A café in the historical center of the Russian city of St. Petersburg was rocked by an explosion on Sunday that killed prominent war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky and injured 32 people. According to emergency services, an improvised explosive device was detonated in the café. RT has gathered what is known about the incident so far.
What happened?
A video that caught the moment of the blast showed a detonation wave so powerful that it caused the café’s façade to collapse, with 15 square meters of the glazing destroyed. TASS reported, citing emergency services, that the suspected improvised explosive device was equivalent to around 200 grams of TNT and was packed with shrapnel.
Where and when did it happen? What are officials saying? “murder in a publicly dangerous way.” The law enforcement agency officially confirmed that an “unidentified improvised explosive device” was detonated at the scene, but details of the incident are still being investigated. The probe was taken under “special control” of the Committee’s Central Office in Moscow. A group of specialists from the Committee’s Central Forensics Department has been deployed to the scene, the statement added.Who is Vladlen Tatarsky? What else is known?
Another video, apparently captured by a street surveillance camera, showed a woman entering the venue with a box.
The survivors alleged that the improvised explosive device might have been disguised inside the statuette. An emergency services source told TASS that the bomb apparently detonated somewhere near the stage where Tatarsky was speaking. The investigators have yet to officially confirm these reports or name any suspects.