Bio

Sergei Pomazun was born in 1982. He grew up in Belgorod, a city in Russia. His father was a hunter and owned firearms, which later became a significant part of Pomazun's story.

He was convicted multiple times for theft-related offenses. He had a history of criminal behavior, which included at least three prior convictions for stealing cars. 

In December 2012, he was released from prison after serving a four-year sentence for theft. It seemed that after his release, he had trouble adjusting to life outside of prison. 

He would sometimes visit family to borrow money and exhibited signs of distress and aggression.

During the period leading up to his criminal acts, Pomazun reportedly expressed anger and feelings of being insulted. This was linked to various interactions he had with staff at local stores.

Pomazun claimed to have served in the military from 1999 to 2001. He worked primarily as a truck driver, and there were no confirmed reports of him being involved in combat. 

Murder Story

On April 22, 2013, Sergey Pomazun entered a gun store called "Okhota" in Belgorod, Russia, around 2:20 p.m. He opened fire with a Saiga semi-automatic rifle, killing two sales assistants and a customer inside the store. After shooting inside the store, he went outside and shot three people on the sidewalk. This included a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl, with the former dying immediately and the latter later at a hospital. In total, six people were killed that day, with the victims being four men aged between 28 and 45, and two girls.

Pomazun fled the scene in a black BMW X5, which was parked nearby and later abandoned. The police began an extensive manhunt for him, searching the area throughout the day. He was eventually apprehended on the night of April 23 while trying to escape the city. During his arrest, he resisted and injured a police officer with a knife.

Following the shooting, the authorities declared April 23 and 24 as days of mourning in Belgorod. They pledged to support the families of the victims financially.

Pomazun's trial began in August 2013. He confessed to the shootings and claimed that he initially intended to rob the store and kill a supermarket security guard who had insulted him prior to the attack. He said the shooting spree was not planned but occurred in the heat of the moment.

During the trial, Pomazun described the first killing as an act of self-defense, believing that a man he shot was a plainclothes policeman. He claimed he began shooting indiscriminately after that. He also made statements about his past military service, where he claimed to have participated in violent operations during the Second Chechen War. However, evidence presented in court showed that he was actually a truck driver during his military service and had not been involved in combat in Chechnya.

The trial included testimonies from multiple witnesses, and Pomazun faced serious charges that included murder and illegal handling of weapons. As the case progressed, discussions of his mental state and behavior before the crimes also emerged, although he was deemed competent to stand trial.