Russian police have charged a 17-year-old college student with terrorism after he set fire to railway equipment in the Moscow region, according to video footage provided to Lenta.ru by Russia's Interior Ministry.
The footage shows the young man buying a flammable liquid mixture at a store. He says he used a lighter to set fire to railway equipment.
How the incident was discovered
The case began when a station duty officer reported an attempted arson of railway equipment at kilometer 45 of the Podolsk to Kutuzovskaya line on the Kursk direction. Police who arrived found two relay cabinets and one battery cabinet showing signs of forced entry and burn marks, along with bottles containing traces of flammable liquid and a crowbar nearby.
Suspect's account
Investigators identified the suspect as a college student from Domodedovo studying in Moscow. He said an unknown person contacted him through a messaging app and forced him to commit the crime. The teenager has been placed in custody.
Police previously reported that an unidentified person set fire to police service vehicles near a police station in the Novosibirsk region.
