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At least 5 killed in Kyiv as gunman opens fire and takes hostages

At least 5 killed in Kyiv as gunman opens fire and takes hostages
A yellow tape at a crime scene. Image used for representation purposes. PHOTO/@DCI_Kenya/X

At least five people have been killed and others injured after a person opened fire in Kyiv, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The incident happened in the capital’s southern Holosiivskyi district, Kyiv’s police force said. The man reportedly began shooting at people on the street and then took others hostage in a nearby supermarket.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the attacker shot at police from within the supermarket before being killed by officers.

The exact number of victims remains unclear, but Kyiv’s mayor said at least 15 people had been injured. Ten of these, including a child, have been taken to the hospital.

Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said four of the dead had been killed in the street and one in the supermarket.

He identified the shooter as a 58-year-old man from the Russian capital, Moscow, and said he had used an automatic weapon to carry out the fatal shooting.

The four hostages he took were later freed, according to Zelensky.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a past event. PHOTO/https://www.facebook.com/zelenskyy.official/photos
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a past event. PHOTO/https://www.facebook.com/zelenskyy.official/

Kravchenko also said a fire had broken out in the man’s apartment, following unconfirmed reports that he detonated an explosive device.

What do we know about the incident?

Televised footage of the scene showed police taking cover in the shopping mall that housed the supermarket while shots were fired.

Bystanders were escorted away from the scene.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko later declared that the gunman was killed during an attempt to arrest him. 

“The gunman was killed during his arrest in Kyiv,” Klymenko said on social media, adding that the suspect “had taken people hostage and fired at police officers during the arrest.”

“The number of victims is being determined. There are killed and wounded,” Klymenko said. 

Kyiv Mayor Klitschko later said that a sixth victim, a young woman, had died from her injuries in the hospital.The assailant’s motive was not immediately clear. 

Zelenskyy said authorities have initiated a probe and that “all the circumstances are being established.”

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