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Vladislav Roslyakov was the eighteen-year-old perpetrator of the mass shooting at Kerch Polytechnic Institute on Wednesday, October 17th, 2018. The massacre resulted in the murder of 21 students and professors, more than 50 injured, and approximately 3 comatose. The shooting came to a close when Roslyakov ended his own life in the library.
The Shooting
During the afternoon hours of October 17, 2018, eighteen-year-old Kerch Polytechnic Institute senior Vladislav Roslyakov entered school grounds, armed with more than ten homemade explosive, 150 bullets, and a Hatsan Escort Aimguard 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Roslyakov was donned in black jeans, a black hoodie (which was likely discarded before the events of the massacre), and a white short-sleeved shirt with black text across it, displaying the word 'ненависть'. ненависть, when translated to English, means 'hatred'. The suspect had also equipped himself with two bags, a grey one and black one. One of these bags, according to investigators, contained ten homemade bombs.
Although contradictory statements have arisen since the publication of the attack, witnesses claim that Roslyakov began his attack in the canteen before running from room to room, firing his weapon at anyone he spotted. The suspect also planted two bombs, one in the canteen and another in the institute's dining area. No deaths, however, have directly resulted from the detonations of these explosives. Officials claimed that one of the explosives contained unspecified metal objects. Roslyakov's body was discovered in the library on the second floor of the institute. Upon further examination, it is extremely likely that Roslyakov died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Motive
A girl claiming to be the perpetrator's ex-girlfriend discloses that Vladislav would confide in her his struggles of bullying he reportedly faced from others, despite contradictory statements from others who knew Roslyakov. Roslyakov had stated that he wanted to exact revenge on "evil professors". Despite this, the perpetrator reportedly never displayed any sort of aggression towards his peers. During his freshman year at Kerch Polytechnic Institute, Roslyakov apparently equipped himself with a knife, although there have been no reported incidents regarding any use of the weapon.
Roslyakov and his mother lived in poverty, and the perpetrator claimed to have been bullied for dressing in "poor clothes". Roslyakov also maintained an unhealthy obsession with murderers and dreamed of recreating the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, USA. Some have even made connections between Vladislav Roslyakov and Columbine High School perpetrator Eric Harris, due to their similar choices of clothing and the positions in which they committed suicide, although there is no definite proof in regards to the perpetrator's obsession with Columbine.
Victims
- Kerova Alina, 05/08/2002
- Perepelkin Egor, 09/04/1999
- Verdibozhenko Vlad, 08/23/2003
- Kseniya Boldina, 2001
- Juraev Ruden, 11/21/2001
- Stepanenko Sergey, 08/30/2003
- Karymov Roma, 09/16/1997
- Ustenko Lyudmila, 10/15/1953
- Lysenko Ruslan, 11/03/2000
- Zhuravleva Anna, 12/27/1998
- Lazarev Vlad, 09/06/1999
- Nikita Florensky, 06/26/2002
- Lavrenovich Lesha, 09/12/1999
- Ruslyakov Vadim
- Daniel Pipenko, 08/29/2002
- Chegerest Dasha, 10/15/2002
- Moiseenko Alexander, 1972
- Kudryavtseva Larisa, 1956
- Demchuk Viktoria, 2001
- Baklanova Nastya, 01/11/1991
- Baklanova Svetlana, 07/12/1961
Sources
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45900534
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45891201
- https://meduza.io/en/feature/2018/10/17/meet-vladislav-roslyakov-the-man-behind-crimea-s-college-massacre
- https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7525576/crimea-shooting-nurse-suicide-son-vladislav-roslyakov-gunman/
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6285769/Ten-killed-40-injured-explosion-school-Russian-occupied-Crimea.html
- https://en.crimerussia.com/gromkie-dela/vladislav-roslyakov-body-to-be-psychiatrically-examined/