Russia church shooting leaves five dead after gunman opens fire

FIVE people were killed and several others were injured after a gunman opened fire with a hunting rifle on people leaving a church service in Russia’s Dagestan region on Sunday, Russian media outlets reported.

The shooting took place outside a church in the town of Kizlyar, a town of about 50,000 people on the border with Chechnya. The Russian news agency TASS cited Mayor Alexander Shuvalov as the source for the number of people killed and wounded, reports Fox News.

The gunman was shot dead by police responding to the scene, a law enforcement source told the Interfax news agency. According to Interfax, the gunman has been identified as a local man in his early 20s.

“People were leaving a church after an evening service when he opened gunfire at them,” Mr Shuvalov told TASS. Two police officers and a woman were among the wounded, according to Shuvalov. One woman later died at a hospital, a law enforcement source told RIA Novosti.

An eyewitness posted a video of the shooting on Twitter, which captured the moment shots were being fired.

Russian media outlets also posted photos on social media of the alleged weapon used in the attack, in addition to a body in front of the church covered by a tarp.

Parishioners were at the church celebrating the end of the Russian festival of Maslenitsa, which marks the start of Lent for Russian Orthodox Christians, according to RT.

An eyewitness to the shooting, Oksana, told RT the gunman targeted people as they were leaving the church, but many took cover inside the building.

“There were a lot of people there, moms with little children, elderly people. I believe God saved us, not allowing the man to get inside the church,” the woman told the news outlet.

Authorities have not yet disclosed what motivated the shooting.

Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim region between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea. Following two separatist wars in neighbouring Chechnya, an Islamist insurgency spread to Dagestan.

Two seriously wounded, who were injured during the shooting in the church in Kizlyar, the doctors decided to transport to the capital. In Moscow, they must undergo surgery. Spetsbort MES with special medical modules must fly to the capital today. Two more wounded will continue treatment in Kizlyar.

As a result of shooting at the temple in Kizlyar, five people were killed and four others were wounded. Currently, doctors are fighting for the lives of victims. Two women - in serious condition, they require complicated operations, so Kizlyar doctors decided to send them to Moscow. Capital specialists have already conducted an examination and recognized patients as being transportable.

Investigators find out the causes of the attack, study the place of emergency and collect evidence, try to make a complete picture of what happened, and also learn the details of the biography of the criminal Khalil Khalilov. There is information that Khalilov, who was 22 years old, may have sworn allegiance to IGIL, an organization banned in Russia, and this violence was not spontaneous. He prepared for it, posted an appeal on the Internet. During the search, the men found a video. The video lasts about 30 minutes. On it Khalilov is wearing a mask, in his hands - a knife. He says that he is preparing to kill. Next to the man at the wall is a hunting rifle. Of it, according to law enforcers, Khalilov and shot at the parishioners of the temple.

The assumption of the custody order is based not only on the characteristic traces of bullets and shells found on the spot, but also on the frames of surveillance cameras. Khalilov is carrying them along the street with arms. In a few moments he will cross the roadway and go to the gate of the church. On his way will be a woman, but he did not touch. Khalilov opened fire as soon as he was in the temple. At this time, people were coming towards him, who were leaving the service.

According to eyewitnesses, Khalilov fired on all indiscriminately. He had to recharge the gun. But even these moments were not enough for the dead and wounded to have time to hide. By the way, having heard the first shots, those who stayed inside hurried to close the doors to the temple. That's why we managed to avoid large casualties.

As reported by NTV correspondent Omar Magomedov, the criminal attempted to open a locked door, behind which about 30 people were hiding. Realizing that she did not give in, went around the temple and decided to get inside from the back of the building. True, these eyewitnesses also managed to provide for. As a result, Khalilov left the territory, and parishioners called law enforcement.

Employees of Rosgvardia and policemen destroyed Khalilov. They overtook him a few hundred meters from the temple. The shooter tried to escape, but he could not do this. True, one policeman and rosgvardeets were injured. Their condition is of medium severity, the orderlies are in the hospital.

Victims of the arrow were five women. One of them is Vera Morgunova. She headed the local council of veterans. As the acting head of the republic Vladimir Vasilyev said, those who died as a result of shooting will be buried in the territory of the temple, TASS reports.

Vladimir Vasiliev, the interim head of Dagestan: "It is very important to conduct a funeral ceremony tomorrow ... in the temple. We talked with him (the head of the Diocese of Makhachkala archbishop of Makhachkala and Grozny Varlaam). He said that they took martyrdom on the territory of the temple and have permission to be buried in the boundary (on the territory near the temple). "

Now the law enforcers are investigating Khalilov's connection with the banned organization, trying to understand where he took the weapons and ammunition. It also has to be determined whether Halilov had accomplices. Earlier it was reported that he came to the temple with his wife, who then disappeared.