MOSCOW, Aug. 19 (MNA) – An unidentified man was stabbing people in the center of the Russian city of Surgut on Saturday, the Russian Investigative Committee stated.

"On August 19, 2017, around 11.20 local time an unidentified man armed with a knife, was moving along the central streets in the city of Surgut and attacking passers-by. He injured eight people. All the victims were hospitalized with wounds of different severity," the report said.

Law enforcement officers arrived at the scene. The attacker was eliminated. A criminal case was initiated under the article "attempted murder."

At present, investigators and criminologists of the regional Investigative Committee are working at the scene of the accident. The circumstances, motives, as well as the personality of the attacker, are yet to be clarified.

SPUTNIK/MNA