A disabled pensioner driven to despair by his low welfare handouts, shot dead two social insurance administrators before killing himself in Russia's Urals city of Nizhny Tagil, a regional police spokesman said on Tuesday.
Sergei Rudakov had his left arm amputated in 1991 following an accident in the local ore-processing plant where he worked. He received an invalid's pension of 7 560 rubles ($245) a month.
He has repeatedly filed lawsuits against the local social insurance fund over his compensation for the injury. In August 2010 a court ruled in favor of his claim and ordered the insurance fund to pay a 250,000-ruble (about $8,300) one-off compensation plus 21,000 rubles ($700) per month, the local investigative committee said.
Rudakov was not satisfied with the court's decision and went to the local social insurance office seeking justice.
"Presumably, after failing to find any sympathy, he took out a carbine from the bag and fired a fatal shot at the official," Gorelykh said, adding that the shot was so powerful that it took off half of the official's head.
Rudakov then went into the corridor and opened fire at random, injuring the director of the fund, who later died in hospital, before shooting himself.
Police found a five-page letter, written by the pensioner, at the scene of the crime, in which he criticized the insurance officials for "giving themselves enormous salaries and pensions", Sverdlovsk regional police spokesman said.
An investigation is underway.
YEKATERINBURG, August 24 (RIA Novosti)
