俄罗斯西部枪击案6人死亡

 　　MOSCOW, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The death toll¹ of a shooting spree in the western Russian city of Belgorod has reached six, local authorities said Monday.

　　"In a parkway in the city downtown, an unidentified man went on a shooting spree. Five people were killed on the spot, and the sixth one, a 16-year-old student, died in a hospital a few hours later," the Belgorod city government said in a statement.

　　Belgorod Mayor Sergei Bozhenov canceled all entertainment in the city and promised to financially support families of the victims.

　　He also declared Tuesday the day of mourning in Belgorod, regional capital located 700 km south of Moscow with a population of 700,000.

　　The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal probe into the incident.

　　Investigators² believed the gunman could be a formerly³ convicted local resident. The 31-year-old suspect abandoned his BMW car during a chase, which helped the police to identify the car owner.

　　Police initially⁴ suspected two men were involved in the shooting spree, which happened at about 14:00 Moscow time (1000 GMT) inside and outside a hunting equipment shop. The gunman opened fire using a rifle he had just bought in the shop.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。