2 Dead After Church Shooting In Russia

Nun and Churchgoer Dead After A Church Shooting In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia

Facts:

The Cathedral of The Resutrection of Christ in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia

• 2 dead and 6 wounded at Russian Orthodox church in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
• Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is located on Sakhalin Island
• As of 2010, the population of this city was 181,728

  A church shooting in the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia has left a nun and a churchgoer dead along with 6 others that were wounded.

The 6 people whom were not fatally shot received gunshot wounds to the legs, officials said. 


The Investigative Committee, who is Russia's federal investigative authority, said that the shooter, who is an employee at a private security agency, was detained on the scene. They also stated that psychiatrists were attempting to determine the suspect's mental condition.

Archbishop Tikhon, who is the regional leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, said that a prayer service will be held for the victims later in the day.

Yuzhno-Sakalinsk was founded by convicts in 1882 and was originally called Vladimirovka. The Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese War in the early 1900's, awarded the southern half of Sakhalin, in which the island Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is located, to Japan and the northern half of the island to Russia.  Japan then renamed the city Toyohara. At the end of World War II, Russian troops occupied the city of Toyohara, subsequently renaming the city to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

The Cathedral of The Resurrection of The Christ, which is where the shooting took place, was built before the Russo-Japanese war and was used as a gathering place for various Japanese institutions during the Japanese occupation of southern Sakhalin. The current building was remodeled to Russian Cathedral standards and opened to the public on January 7th, 1995.

There have been many fears over security this week due to the Sochi Olympics, but the shooting does not appear to be connected to the Olympics in any way.