Stabber identified in central Russian city attack

MOSCOW, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Russian investigators have identified a knife-wielding man who carried out a stabbing attack that left seven people injured in the Russian city of Surgut on Saturday.

"Investigators have identified the attacker now. According to preliminary information, he was a local resident born in 1994," Russia's Investigative Committee said in its latest statement.

An earlier statement issued by the committee said that the attacker stabbed pedestrians while moving along the city's main streets at about 11:20 a.m. local time (0620 GMT), leaving eight people injured with wounds of varying degrees, while the reportedly updated information said the number of injured in the attack is seven.

All the victims have been hospitalized. According to the committee, the attacker was killed by security forces, who had immediately arrived at the scene.

Investigators and criminologists are currently working at the scene, and a criminal case has been launched, said the previous statement.

Circumstances and motives of the crime are being established. Information on the man's possible mental disorders will be verified, the committee said.

"The theory that the attack was an act of terrorism is not the main one," the regional department of the Russian Interior Ministry said.

Regional authorities are assisting the injured, of whom two are in critical conditions, local health authorities said.