Nubarghof sniper attack
| Nubarghof sniper attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of Norcustsur conflict | |
| Date | 16 January 2012 |
Attack type | Mass shooting |
| Weapons | Dragunov rifle |
| Deaths | 6 |
Non-fatal injuries | 3 |
| Perpetrator | Communist Party of Radictistan |
The Nubarghof sniper attack was a mass shooting which took place at the Nubarghof Resort and Lodge near the town of Nubarghof in the Radictistani County of Norcustsur. Eight people were shot by a single assailant. Six were killed. The shooter was not apprehended and both perpetrator and motive were unknown until the Communist Party of Radictistan, a militant organization seeking to establish a single party Communist state in Radictistan, claimed responsibility.
Ski lift attack
Most of the victims were shot while waiting to board a gondola lift near the western edge of the property. The shooter took up position about eight hundred meters northwest of the lift station and opened fire at 8:24. The first shot struck Vladek Stolarz, a security guard, in the head. He was killed instantly.
The second shot hit Marina Enkel, the wife of a Kazdan Mining and Metals executive in the upper body. Her husband, Markus Enkel, was fired at twice while attempting to come to his wife's aid. The second shot passed through his side. Marina died at the scene while Markus was airlifted to a nearby hospital and survived. It was only after the Enkels were shot that another resort employee, Irina Fegelein, was able to take cover behind a concrete beam and called police on her mobile phone.
The shooter fired twice more, hitting local physician Dr. Andrei Solev and honeymooner Kurt Euler. Solev died of blood loss while being airlifted while Euler survived his injuries. The next person to be shot was Anna Kolina, an escort who was accompanying a client for a day of skiing. She was struck in the back and died at the scene. Her customer, Norcustsur assemblyman Isaak Federov received a shoulder wound and survived.
After Federov was hit some resort patrons began firing their own personal weapons at suspected muzzle flashes. The shooter fired once more killing Norcust Aviation executive Louisa Karber. It took the frightened and armed civilians more than a minute to realize that the incoming fire had stopped.
Final victim
The last shot was fired from a new position twelve hundred meters down the slope. Kurt Bundleiter, a stock broker and younger son of a baron, was shot once in the back of the head while moving away from the sound of gunshots. He was the sixth and last fatality. The entire shooting spree had lasted twenty-one minutes.
Aftermath
A special tactics team from the County of Norcustsur Police was airlifted to the scene along with medical personnel. No trace of the shooter was found except for footprints and spent bullet casings at the two firing positions. The casings were used by investigators along with eyewitness accounts to piece together the course of events. The shooter's choice of weapon and remarkable accuracy, hitting nine people with ten shots and killing six, led investigators to be believe that he or she had received marksmanship training from either the military or police. The death of a baron's son and a county legislator placed heavy pressure on the security services to find and apprehend a culprit. Security was subsequently tightened at the resort with a small police station complementing an increased number of private security guards.
Investigators were initially divided as to the affiliation and motivation of the shooter. While the Communist Party of Radictistan was a likely suspect, there was a precedent in Radictistan for mass shootings by individuals working alone. This controversy was laid to rest four days after the attack when a KPR pirate broadcast claimed responsibility.