The video purportedly shows a man carrying a rucksack entering the store which was later rocked by an explosion, according to Russian online newspaper Fontanka. In the footage published on Thursday, the man is seen leaving his rucksack in a storage locker at 6:16pm local time (3:16 GMT), just half an hour before the explosion tore through the busy supermarket. The suspect’s face is not clearly seen in the footage and his head is covered by a hood. Less than 30 seconds later he left the shop carrying nothing on his back.
A total of thirteen people were injured in Wednesday’s explosion, with eight still remaining in hospital. The blast, equivalent to 200 grams of TNT, was caused by a homemade explosive device filled with lethal fragments. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the incident a terrorist attack and ordered law enforcement to “kill the assailants” if they offer resistance. The police are investigating the attack and so far have not revealed any further details.