Gunman Kills Six, Takes Hostages in Kyiv Supermarket Attack; Police Shoot Him Dead

 

At least six people have been killed and 14 others injured after a gunman opened fire in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in a rare mass shooting incident, officials say.

The attack occurred on Saturday in the Holosiivskyi district in the city’s south, where the suspect reportedly began firing at people on a street before moving into a nearby supermarket and taking several hostages.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the assailant, a 58-year-old man identified as a local resident originally from Moscow, acted “chaotically” and did not issue any demands during a 40-minute standoff with police negotiators.

Authorities said officers attempted to engage him in talks while emergency responders prepared to assist injured victims inside the store. The situation escalated when the gunman killed one hostage, prompting police to storm the building and shoot him dead.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said 14 people were injured in total, including a 12-year-old boy. He confirmed that four people died at the scene, while another victim, a woman in her 30s, later died in hospital.

Four hostages were successfully rescued during the operation, officials added.

Prosecutors said the suspect used a legally registered automatic weapon, and investigations are now underway to determine how he obtained the licence and what led to the attack. 

Authorities also revealed he had lived for a long period in the eastern Donetsk region and had set fire to his apartment shortly before the shooting spree.

Although Kyiv has faced frequent missile and drone strikes since Russia’s full-scale invasion, mass shootings of this kind are considered extremely rare in the Ukrainian capital.