Shots in Kyiv: Police speak of suspected terrorism

Six dead, several injured

Shots in Kyiv: suspected terrorism

After a fatal shooting in Kyiv, the shooter’s motive is being sought. The police are investigating the terrorist attack.

According to official information, an unknown person shot six people in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Nine others were injured, Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram. According to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, the man was shot by special police forces after barricading himself with hostages in a supermarket. As the Reuters news agency reports, the police are investigating suspected terrorism. A motive is still unclear.

According to media reports, the man had previously shot passers-by with an automatic rifle in the Demiivka district. The Interior Ministry later specified that the perpetrator fired with a semi-automatic rifle for which he also had a firearms license. When the police gave chase, he fled into a supermarket. According to Klymenko, attempts to contact the 58-year-old failed. That’s why the shop was stormed.

Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko emphasized that the perpetrator was a native of Moscow. However, according to media reports, he is said to have Ukrainian citizenship and to have lived in Donbass for a long time.

President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his condolences to the relatives in a video message. The police and secret service are in the process of investigating the background to the crime. According to Zelensky, 14 people were injured. The number could still rise, he said.

Ukraine has been resisting the Russian invasion for more than four years. In this context, the sale of weapons among the population has also increased significantly.