At least one gunman opened fire at Azerbaijan’s prestigious oil training institution yesterday, killing 13 people and wounding 10, the government said.
Chief paramedic Mursal Hamidov, speaking to reporters at the sealed-off boundary of the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy, said the attacker had committed suicide, but the government did not confirm that.
Police would give no details, but the Health Ministry and prosecutors said 13 were dead and 10 wounded.
CONFLICTING REPORTS
Conflicting media reports had said there were as many as four attackers, but a witness spoke only of one.
TV footage from inside the academy showed victims lying face down in the corridors, apparently dead, with blood seeping onto the floor. Crying women were shown walking hurriedly out of the building and students carried others, apparently injured, out of the building. The footage was shown on Russia’s Channel One news.
The Interior Ministry said a special police operation had ended.
FEW DETAILS
But details of the incident — including the identity of the suspected killer — were not immediately available.
Bekir Belek, a Turkish student, spoke to Turkey’s CNN-Turk television from a hospital in Baku.
“We were in an exam, we heard gunshots, we went out of the classroom in panic and saw a gunman opening fire on everyone, three of my friends were shot,” Belek told CNN-Turk television.
“Everywhere was covered in blood, all corridors. There are many wounded,” he said. “We were trying to escape but had to return when my friends were shot, we took them to hospital.”
“There were bodies at each floor,” said Ibrahim Kar, another Turkish student at the hospital.
SHOT AT ANYONE
Ilgar Mamedov, whose father was shot in the head in the attack and spoke to other victims in a hospital ward, outlined his account of the shooting. Mamedov’s father is an employee of the academy.
Mamedov said the gunman was a short man who walked the halls of the academy taking aim at the head of anyone standing within range and shooting.
If it was apparent a victim was not dead after a first shot, the attacker shot again, Mamedov said.
ELITE ACADEMY
The academy, which has existed under a variety of names since the beginning of the 20th century, has long been recognized as a major international center for the training of oil industry specialists.
Among its graduates are Vagit Alekperov, the president of Lukoil, Russia’s biggest independent oil producer; Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos; Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s first post-Soviet president; and Lavrenti Beria, the head of the Soviet secret police under Josef Stalin.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS