Police classify shooting at Transcarpathian school as terrorist attack — student may have been threatened by unknowns from online game

Police are investigating a shooting at a school in the city of Chop in Transcarpathia as a terrorist act.

This is reported by the police of the Transcarpathian region.

On the morning of April 16, a 15-year-old 9th grader brought a gun to school and fired twice during class. He wounded a classmate. The victim was given medical attention — his life and health are not in danger. The shooter tried to escape, but was detained by patrol officers.

According to preliminary data, the teenager could have acted under the influence and psychological pressure of unidentified individuals. He met them in an online game, and then contacted them via messenger. In particular, the boy spoke about threats to harm his loved ones if he did not fulfill the demands.

Investigators also determined that the pistol was a stun gun (starter gun) converted into a firearm.

• On March 23, a terrorist attack occurred in Bucha. The police received a report of an explosion, and when they arrived, another one occurred. The suspect, a 21-year-old local resident Bohdan Tymchenko said that he met an alleged representative of the Russian special services, on whose orders he committed the terrorist attack, in an online game.
• According to him, the curator blackmailed him and threatened the life of his mother, a soldier who is currently in a combat zone. Because of this, the man was afraid to report his actions to Ukrainian law enforcement officers.
• In recent months, similar terrorist attacks or attempts have been recorded in Lviv, Kyiv, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Odesa and Brovary. In particular, in Lviv, a double explosion killed a policewoman and a National Guardsman, and 25 more people were injured. In Bucha, an explosion that occurred on March 23 injured two law enforcement officers.

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