Russian media: St. Petersburg explosion was carried out by a suicide bomber

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April 3, 2017 2:11 PM

The Life News website showed pictures of blown-out train doors and injured people on the station platform.

Russian special forces police

Russian media reported that the explosion at the St. Petersburg metro on Monday that killed at least nine people was carried out by a suicide bomber.

Interfax news agency, citing a law enforcement source, said that officials had determined the identity of the suspect, saying the individual was a 23-year-old from central Asia. The suspect reportedly carried the explosive into the St. Petersburg metro in a backpack.

news outlet RBK

told Russian media

At least 50 people have been reported injured from the blast, state media reported.

The St. Petersburg subway press office confirmed an explosive device was set off on a train, according to the Associated Press.

The blast reportedly occurred while a train was moving between two stations — Tekhnologichesky Institut and Sennaya Ploshchad.

Another bomb was found and deactivated at a different St. Petersburg metro station, according to Russian antiterrorism officials. That station, Vosstaniya Square, is about 20 minutes by car from the site of the blast.

Earlier reports had suggested there were two blasts, but the latest information from Russian news agencies indicates there was only one.

Here's a look at the aftermath of the blast:

The St. Petersburg metro closed all stations in response to the deadly blast.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was in St. Petersburg when the blast occurred, said in a statement that authorities were considering all possible motives, including terrorism.

Here's a map of the affected stations (Russian state media initially reported at least 10 people had died; that number was revised throughout the day):

Various websites and social-media users have posted pictures of blown-out train doors and injured people on the station platform, which appears to be at a stop in the center of Russia's second-biggest city.

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