Grenade explosion kills two, wounds seven in Russian court

Two people died and seven others were wounded Wednesday when a convicted man detonated a hand grenade in a courtroom in St. Petersburg, a court official said.

The incident happened in the Primorsky district court when a judge completed reading the verdict in a trial of several police officers accused of abusing their authority.

One of the defendants found guilty detonated a grenade, killing himself and a security guard, a court secretary said on condition of anonymity.

Seven other people, including a judge, were hospitalized with wounds, she said.

News agencies, however, reported that the convicted man was wounded rather than killed, and that altogether 12 people were wounded and one killed in the incident.

It wasn't immediately clear how the man managed to bring the grenade into the court building.

AP