The 2007 Balashikha shooting was a

mass murder Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...

that occurred on 23 April 2007, in

Balashikha Balashikha ( rus, Балашиха, p=bəlɐˈʂɨxə) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pekhorka River east of the Moscow Ring Road. Population: Etymology In Finno-Ugric languages, ''Bala-shika'' means ''land of celebration ...

, Moscow Oblast, Russia, where four people were shot and killed by Alexandr Lyovin, who was arrested and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

Perpetrator

Alexander Lyovin (Александр Лёвин) was a 31-year-old

career criminal A habitual offender, repeat offender, or career criminal is a person convicted of a crime who was previously convicted of other crimes. Various state and jurisdictions may have laws targeting habitual offenders, and specifically providing for enha ...

, described as a "

bandit Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, e ...

", and was a resident of Balashikha. Lyovin had repeatedly been in trouble with law enforcement in the past, and at the time of the shooting had recently been released from prison. Lyovin was a

recidivist Recidivism (; from 'recurring', derived from 'again' and 'to fall') is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to extinguish it. Reci ...

, and shortly after his release was hired as a

contract killer Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

Shooting

At 12:00 a.m., on April 23, 2007, Lyovin went to the apartment building at 8 Krupskoy Street in Balashikha, where his contract ordered him to shoot 49-year-old Nina Kuznetsova (Нина Кузнецова) who lived in apartment 15. Armed with a handmade

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

featuring an improvised

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a gun barrel#Muzzle, muzzle device that suppresses the muzzle blast, blast created when a gun (firearm or airgun) is discharged, thereby reducing the sound inten ...

that had been provided to him, Alexander went to Kuznetsova's apartment at and rang the

doorbell A doorbell is a signaling device typically placed near a door to a building's entrance. When a visitor presses a button (control), button, the bell rings inside the building, alerting the occupant to the presence of the visitor. Although the ...

. Kuznetsova saw the weapon as she answered the door and tried to escape, but Lyovin shot her in the head and killed her. As he attempted to flee, Lyovin suddenly encountered 30-year-old Valida Halilova (Валида Халилова) who saw his weapon, and fatally shot her as she ran away. Lyovin then ran downstairs and saw 43-year-old Sergey Glashko (Сергей Глашко) and shot him dead while still attempting to escape. Near the exit, Lyovin saw 70-year-old Lidiya Vasilyeva (Лидия Васильева) and shot her dead too.

Arrest and conviction

After that Lyovin escaped from 8 Krupskoy Street, footage of the shooting was found to have been captured on a video camera. Panic spread across the small city of Balashikha, and local police directed all available resources towards investigating the shooting. Lyovin was arrested on May 4, 2007, and on June 5, 2008, was sentenced to

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...

.Предъявлено обвинение подозреваемому в убийстве 4 человек в подмосковной Балашихе

References

21st-century mass murder in Russia Attacks in Russia in 2007 Mass murder in 2007 Spree shootings in Russia Deaths by firearm in Russia April 2007 in Russia Mass shootings in Russia 2007 mass shootings in Europe Filmed killings 2007 murders in Russia {{crime-stub