Two killed in grenade blast at party
Two women were killed and nine people were injured today when a hand grenade exploded inside a cafe at a Moscow medical academy dormitory during a party, news reports and police said.
According to witnesses, the grenade detonated while it was being carelessly handled by a party guest, the Interfax news agency said.
Nikolai Lunyev, a police investigator, told NTV television that witnesses said “a very nervous young man” had brought the grenade to the cafe located on the ground floor of the Sechenov Medical Academy.
TVS news reported that a group was celebrating the forthcoming holiday Old New Year when the man, who appeared to be intoxicated, came in at about 3am and quarrelled with his girl friend.
He then apparently pulled the grenade’s pin and lost control of the grenade, which then exploded, the report said.
Two women, aged 25 and 29, were killed immediately, TVS reported. Six people, including the man, were taken to a hospital. The other three were treated for their wounds at the scene.
Lunyev said it was unlikely that the man, identified by Interfax as a Russian serviceman, would survive his injuries.
Police did not regard the blast as a terrorist act, but the result of a jealous quarrel, TVS news said.
