A mass taking pictures in Ukraine’s capital leaves 6 lifeless earlier than police shot and killed the gunman : NPR

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Dan Bashakov/AP KYIV, Ukraine — A gunman wielding an computerized weapon killed six individuals and barricaded himself inside a grocery store with hostages within the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Saturday, earlier than he was shot and killed by police, authorities stated.

A minimum of 14 individuals had been wounded and brought to hospital.

The 58-year-old attacker was not named by police, however Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated he was born in Russia, as authorities labored to piece collectively a motive for the violence.

The mass taking pictures — exceptional in wartime Kyiv following Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — passed off in a busy central district of the town, outdoors an condo block and a close-by purchasing heart, leaving our bodies on a crowded road as bystanders fled for security.

An Related Press reporter on the scene noticed victims' our bodies on the street lined with emergency blankets earlier than they had been taken away.

"The assailant has been neutralized. He had taken hostages and, tragically, killed considered one of them. He additionally murdered 4 individuals on the road. One other lady died within the hospital as a result of extreme accidents," Zelenskyy stated.

"It has been established that the attacker set hearth to an condo earlier than taking to the streets with a weapon," Zelenskyy stated in a video posted on-line. "He had a previous prison file, had lived within the Donetsk area (in japanese Ukraine) for an extended interval, and was born in Russia."

Ukraine's particular tactical police items stormed the comfort retailer after makes an attempt to contact the gunman with a negotiator failed, Inside Minister Ihor Klymenko stated.

The hostages had been grocery store clients and employees.

"We tried to influence him, understanding that there was seemingly a wounded individual inside. We even provided to herald tourniquets to cease the bleeding, however he didn't reply," Klymenko stated. "Consequently, the order was given to neutralize him."

The minister stated the gunman had a legitimate weapon's allow.

Through the 40-minute standoff, a feminine negotiator sporting physique armor and standing behind an armored car used a loudspeaker to name out to the assailant, urging him: "The individuals are to not blame for this. Please allow them to go, and we'll speak with you."

Ukraine's safety service, or SBU, described the killings as an act of terrorism.

The taking pictures passed off in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district, the place a number of residents stated they acknowledged the gunman.

"I knew him by sight. He appeared like an informed, refined man. You'd by no means guess he was some sort of prison," stated 75-year-old Hanna Kulyk, who lived in the identical condo block because the attacker.

"He did not socialize a lot with individuals — only a greeting and he'd be on his manner," she stated. "He lived alone."

Related Press journalists Vasilisa Stepanenko and Dan Bashakov in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.