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Teen bomber plotted convent blast during morning prayer, but device went off at entrance

As a result of the blast, eight people were injured, including seven children

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. A graduate of a Russian Orthodox school who set off a homemade bomb on the premises of a convent in Serpukhov in the Moscow Region was plotting to detonate the IED during morning prayer services but the device went off at the school entrance, a law enforcement source told TASS.

"According to preliminary information, the former student planned to set off the homemade explosive device during morning prayers but it detonated at the school entrance," the source said, noting that the religious service was being conducted in the school building.

On Monday morning, a former student possessing a homemade bomb entered the premises of Serpukhov’s convent where the school is located and detonated the device. As a result of the blast, eight people were injured, including seven children. According to preliminary information, the perpetrator had a conflict with the school’s students and teachers.

One of the eyewitnesses told TASS that the students ran for cover in order to hide. "Immediately following the blast, children began to run out in order to hide in the dining room. Many were without any coats, some in slippers and indoor shoes," the source said. As a law enforcement source noted, the explosion was set off by the school’s former student Vladislav Struzhenkov who was into computer games, including shooter action video games.