The cold look in the camera – before the shots

Emil Forsberg

Updated 22.06 | Published 22.03

He set fire to his apartment before the mass shooting started.

Now the shooter has been identified – a 57-year-old who was previously convicted of a madman attack in a video store.

– He may have gone even crazier after that, says Platon, who was attacked.

Six people were killed and about ten more were injured when a lone gunman opened fire in Kiev.

After setting fire to his apartment, he took his semi-automatic hunting rifle out into the street and began executing people, according to Ukrainian authorities.

He then barricaded himself in a grocery store and took several people hostage, where he was caught on surveillance camera.

After 40 minutes of negotiations, the police heard a shot and stormed the building. By then, one of the hostages had been killed.

The shooter pointed his semi-automatic weapon at the police and was shot dead.

– He shot four people in the middle of the street. A woman who was being treated in hospital for her injuries also died. Four of the hostages were rescued. We have 14 injured people, including a 12-year-old boy whose parents were also shot dead, says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj.

The 57-year-old shooter has been identified in Ukrainian media as Dmitry Vasilievich Vasilchenkov. He was born in Moscow and is said to have lived for several years in Bakhmut and Donetsk before moving to Kiev.

He is said to have recently had active bank accounts in Russia and crossed the border into Russia several times in 2016, writes Meduza.

In 2023, he was also involved in a filmed fight in a video store in Kiev where he attacked a man in line.

– Apparently he had a Russian passport. There are rumors that before he went out to shoot people in Kiev, he burned down his apartment. I don't know, maybe he went even crazier after that situation, Platon, who was beaten, tells TCH.

Zelenskyy says that they are investigating what is behind the act.

- He has been convicted of a crime before. We are looking for all the information about him and his motives that we can get.

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At least six shot dead in Kyiv – investigated as terror

At least six people have been killed and around 15 injured in a mass shooting in Kyiv, Ukrainian media report. The security service SBU is investigating it as a terrorist act.

A 58-year-old man, a Ukrainian citizen and born in Moscow, set fire to his apartment and went out into the street with an automatic weapon. There he shot several people dead before entering a grocery store, where he took several people hostage.

Special forces were called in and tried to negotiate with the man, but he was not cooperative. The police then stormed the store and shot and killed the man, who also fired at the police during the operation. Four hostages were rescued.

The motive for the act is unknown.