'Spurned lover' kills five in Moscow shooting

A 30-year-old Russian man apparently suffering from unrequited love on Wednesday killed five colleagues on a shooting spree in his Moscow office after declaring his hatred for life, investigators said.

The man is believed to have posted an online manifesto in which he proclaimed his "hatred for humankind as a species" hours before the killing spree, prompting comparisons with Norweigian killer Anders Behring Breivik.

Dmitry Vinogradov, 30, opened fire at the offices of the drugs company in northeast Moscow Wednesday morning, killing five of his colleagues and wounding another two, the Investigative Committee said.

"On the morning of November 7, 2012, the suspect came into the office of the pharmaceutical company he works for and fired numerous shots from Saiga and Benelli shotguns that he owns," the statement said.

"As a result, three men and two young women sitting at their desks died on the spot.

"One more man and another young woman were wounded, they are receiving medical help," it said, adding that the company's security guards had detained him.

A spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee, told AFP the man shot from two guns simultaneously. He was placed under arrest and is being questioned by investigators.

Russian news agencies, citing sources in the city's law enforcement agencies, said the attacker was suffering from unrequited love for a colleague.

"I hate human society and being part of it disgusts me! I hate the meaningless of human life!" Vinogradov wrote in a manifesto posted on one of Russia's top social networks, the Lenta.ru news site said.

"I hate the life itself. I see only one way to justify it: to eliminate as many particles of human compost as possible."

The state RIA Novosti news agency, citing a source in the city's law enforcement agencies, said the attacker was suffering from unrequited love and that the woman he had been pursuing was among the victims.

Pictures of a young blonde woman who presumably broke the 30-year-old man's heart were shown on television.

"He told investigators that he had fallen in love with a girl who was a pharmacist, but his feelings were not reciprocated," the source was quoted as saying.

"Because of that he drank for five days and today he came in and opened fire."

The Investigative Committee spokeswoman declined to speculate about the motive for the killings, adding investigators had to first question the killer.

The official said it was not clear whether she was among the dead or the injured.

The Interfax news agency said, citing a law enforcement source, said Vinogradov would have to undergo a psychological evaluation, referring to his manifesto.

"He is of course not Breivik but the analogy suggests itself," the source was quoted as saying.

Breivik, a 33-year-old right-wing extremist from Norway, was in August found sane by an Oslo court and sentenced to his country's maximum sentence of 21 years for July 2011 bombing and shooting frenzy that left 77 people dead.

Another representative of the Investigative Committee, speaking in televised remarks, said the shooting took place at the offices rented by pharmacy chain Rigla.

A spokeswoman for Rigla declined comment, only saying police were looking into the matter.

Access to firearms is restricted and shooting sprees are rare in the country, although crimes of passion are not.

Last year a Moscow driver smashed into 17 cars in the Russian capital on a drunken rampage while naked behind the wheel of his car, later explaining he was flying on "the wings of love."

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