MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. A priest at a Moscow church, the scene of a stabbing attack on Sunday morning, told TASS that two injured men were his assistants.
"During the preparations for the service, a young man rushed to the altar and stabbed my assistants with a knife. I want to thank all worshippers and the guards, who were able to neutralize the attacker. I thank the police for coming on time and quickly detaining him. The life of my assistants, the bell ringers, is not under threat, they are in hospital," priest at St. Nicholas Church Kirill Sladkov said.
According to the priest, the attacker looked like an ordinary worshipper and he did not shout anything. "When he ran to the altar, I met him as a priest together with my assistant. It’s difficult to say now why he attacked my assistant," Sladkov said.
Earlier on Sunday, a man entered St. Nicholas Church in downtown Moscow and injured two men with a knife. Shortly after, the attacker was detained by police, Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Irina Volk said.
According to preliminary data, the attacker was identified as Efim Efimov, a native of the Lipetsk Region, who was in "an inadequate condition."
A source in the law enforcement agencies told TASS that this was most likely an act of hooliganism.