Police in the western Russian city of Smolensk said on Tuesday they have uncovered an arms cache in the home of a local resident who had previously been charged with shooting at passers-by.
In early August, the 42-year-old man attacked two passers-by and pointed a gun at them, police said. “He twice shot at one of the men, but fortunately did not hit him. The second man managed to knock the weapon out if the assailant’s hands and called the police.”
“The gunman…failed to explain the motives for his attack,” the police added in a statement.
When questioned, the man admitted he had a quantity of weapons in his home. In a subsequent search there, the police found two PPSh submachine guns, two grenades, an IZH-27E hunting gun, a KO-44 carbine, a MP-512 air-rifle, an MTs-20 gun, four pistols, 461 cartridges, spare gun parts and a metal detector.
The detainee claimed he stumbled upon the weapons and ammunition at an abandoned home in a Belarusian village.
The man was arrested on charges of “armed hooliganism,” and “illicit possession and usage of weapons,” punishable by up to five years behind bars.