Police are searching for vandals who threw bottles with flammable liquid into a prayer house, using a videotape from a security camera at the scene.
Investigators are studying frames of the video which clearly show how vandals threw Molotov cocktails through the window of the building. It is possible that this videotape will help detain the criminals who attacked the Muslim prayer home on Lavrova Street in Volgograd on 22 October.
The prayer home is located at No. 16, a two-story residential building. According to law-enforcers, on the night of 22 October, vandals whose identity is now being determined threw two bottles with Molotov cocktails into the building.
A fire did not break out as the flames were quickly doused.
“My wife and I are here all the time, we have eight children,” says Rustam Khazrat, the imam of the mosque. “Everyone was asleep at night, and at 3:30 a.m., according to the camera we have in place, I heard a sharp sound. At first I didn’t understand what had happened. I thought it was the wind or something. After a while, there was an acrid smell. My wife cried out from the woman’s hall upstairs, “We’re on fire!” I ran into the hall and saw that a rug was burning and two windows were broken.
Local residents suspect that the incident may be related to a terrorist attacked committed the previous day in Volgograd. After the bombing, the region was put on higher alert for a terrorist threat. The home-made bomb which suicide bomber Naida Asiyalova placed inside a regular city bus was packed with nails and bolts. The explosion literally tore the bus into pieces. The bus was full at that moment – at that time, many students were returning from classes. According to the latest information from the Emergencies Ministry, six passengers were killed and 43 were wounded. Doctors say seven are in very severe condition. All of the victims suffer from shrapnel wounds.