A Mass Shooting In Ukraine’s Capital Leaves 6 Dead Before Police Shot And Killed The Gunman
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A gunman using an automatic weapon killed six people in Ukraine’s capital and barricaded himself inside a supermarket with the hostages. KyivThis happened before he was shot and killed by police on Saturday, authorities said.
At least 14 people were injured and taken to hospital.
The name of the 58-year-old attacker was not given by the police, but the President of Ukraine announced it Volodymyr Zelenskyy He said he was born in Russia as authorities tried to piece together the cause of the violence.
Mass shooting – an unheard of event in wartime Kiev Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine occurred in 2022 – in a busy central district of the city, outside a block of flats and a nearby shopping centre; The bodies were left in a crowded street as bystanders fled for safety.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw the victims’ bodies covered with emergency blankets before they were taken away.
Zelenskyy said, “The attacker was neutralized. He took hostages and tragically killed one. He also killed 4 people on the street. A woman died in the hospital due to serious injuries.”
“It was determined that the attacker set fire to an apartment before running out into the street with a gun,” Zelenskyy said in a video published online. “He had a previous criminal record, had lived in the Donetsk region (eastern Ukraine) for a long time and was born in Russia.”
of Ukraine Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said special tactical police units raided the market after attempts to contact the gunman and the negotiator failed.
The hostages were supermarket customers and employees.
“We tried to persuade him because we knew there might be someone injured inside. We even offered to bring a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, but he did not respond,” Klymenko said. “As a result, the order was given to neutralize him.”
The minister said the gunman had a valid weapons permit.
During the 40-minute meeting, a female negotiator wearing a bulletproof vest and standing behind an armored vehicle used a loudspeaker to address the attacker and tell him: “The public is not to blame for this. Please let them go and we will talk to you.”
Ukraine’s security service (SBU) described the killings as an act of terrorism.
The shooting took place in Kiev’s Holosiivskyi district, and many residents said they recognized the gunman.
“I knew him visually. He looked like an educated and refined man. You would never guess that he was some kind of criminal,” said Hanna Kulyk, 75, who lived in the same apartment building as the attacker.
“He wasn’t socializing with people much; he would just leave with a greeting,” he said. “He lived alone.”
