Gunman opens fire and seizes supermarket in Kiev (VIDEOS)
An armed man has opened fire and seized a supermarket in Kiev, leaving at least six people dead and several wounded, the Ukrainian authorities have confirmed.
The incident unfolded on Saturday evening in the southwestern Goloseyevsky district, where the attacker reportedly began shooting at random before barricading himself inside a Velmart supermarket, taking several people hostage.
Police said special forces units were deployed and a cordon established around the area in an operation to detain the suspect.
Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko initially said at least five people were killed and 15 others wounded. He confirmed that a child was among the wounded and has been taken to the hospital; several victims were receiving treatment at the scene. He later said another victim died in the hospital from injuries, bringing the death toll to six.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has expressed condolences following the attack. He said the circumstances of the shooting “are being clarified” and that he instructed the interior minister and the head of the National Police to provide information to the public as soon as it becomes available.
According to local reports, the gunman was armed with an automatic weapon.
Ukrainian media reported that the shooter set fire to his apartment before the attack, a claim later confirmed by Klitschko. Videos circulating online appear to show a large blaze coming from the windows of the suspected residence. Klitschko said a four-month-old child in a neighboring apartment was treated for carbon monoxide poisoning. Police have not yet confirmed any connection between the shooter and the burning apartment.
Police later said the shooter was killed when officers stormed the store where he was hiding. The motive remains unclear, and the authorities have not released details about the suspect.
Footage shared by Ukrainian media purports to show the suspected gunman running through a residential neighborhood carrying what looks like an automatic rifle. Another video apparently shows him shooting a pedestrian who tried to stop him.
Recent videos shared by the media show hostages being evacuated from the building. Some reports suggest that the gunman may have been forcibly conscripted days earlier and fled his unit before carrying out the attack.
Another clip from the scene appears to show two Ukrainian police officers spotting the gunman on the street. However, instead of opening fire, one officer is seen leaving two bystanders behind and running toward nearby cars for cover. Moments later, the gunman shoots a civilian.
Ukrainian police said both officers have been suspended pending an investigation.
Ukrainskaya Pravda claims that the shooter was identified as Dmitry Vasilchenkov, 57, who was born in Moscow and holds Ukrainian citizenship. Strana.ua, which also identified the shooter as Dmitry Vasilchenkov, claims he previously faced charges for causing minor bodily harm after assaulting a man during a dispute in 2023. The case was dropped in 2024 after the parties reached a settlement. The outlet also claimed he sued the Pension Fund and secured an additional payment of around 2,000 hryvnia ($45 dollars), with court records suggesting that he was a former serviceman receiving a military pension.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, later said the attacker was a 58-year-old “native of Moscow,” but did not confirm his identity.
Following the incident, Interior Minister Igor Klimenko told the media that the shooter legally owned a registered weapon and renewed his permit in December last year after submitting a medical certificate. He added that the attacker made no demands to the authorities during the brief siege of the supermarket, and that the operation to detain him began after he killed one of the hostages.
