Man in underwear explodes near kindergarten

An explosion ripped through the center of Kazan on Tuesday morning. According to preliminary data, the explosive device was detonated by a local resident, who committed suicide.

The explosion took place in the yard of an old two-storied building. The victim has been identified as Alfred Sharafutdinov, a previously convicted resident of Kazan, born in 1973. In 2006, he was tried under Article 222 of the Criminal Code for illegal possession of arms and ammunition. Three years later, the man was charged under Article 111 (intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm) and Article 112 (intentional infliction of moderate bodily harm), the press service of the Interior Ministry in the Republic of Tatarstan reports.

According to ProKazan.ru, the man committed suicide near a fence, just a few meters from Kindergarten No.66. The explosion occurred at about 11:20 a.m. There were 21 children outside, aged 4-5 years, at the moment when the explosion occurred.

Fortunately, the children were staying on the playground at the time of the explosion, at quite a distance from the fence. None of them was hurt.

Tatar-Inform reports that Alfred Sharafutdinov had been abusing alcohol during the last two weeks. On Tuesday morning, he had a fight with his wife. The woman told Interfax that her husband ran outside in his underwear, and "something exploded in his hand." The woman ran outside too, but the man was already dead.

According to police, the victim made the bomb himself. Police officers told the news agency that Sharafutdinov was a supporter of radical Islam.