Ukrainian police shoot dead gunman who killed at least 6 and took hostages in a supermarket
A gunman who killed at least six people in the streets of Kyiv Saturday before taking hostages and barricading himself in a nearby supermarket has been shot dead by police, Ukrainian officials said
By VOLODYMYR YURCHUK and DEREK GATOPOULOS - Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A gunman who killed at least six people in the streets of Kyiv Saturday before taking hostages and barricading himself in a nearby supermarket has been shot dead by police, Ukrainian officials said.
The head of Ukraine's Interior Ministry, Ihor Klymenko, said in a statement on social media that special tactical police units stormed the store after attempts to contact the gunman with a negotiator failed. The attacker was killed while resisting arrest, he said.
Speaking to reporters at the scene, Klymenko said that the government had killed four bystanders while on the street, before entering the supermarket and killing a fifth person.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that a sixth victim, a young woman, had died from her injuries in the hospital.
Klymenko said that police negotiators spoke with the attacker for roughly 40 minutes before storming the building.
“We tried to persuade him, knowing that there was likely a wounded person inside. We even offered to bring in tourniquets to stop the bleeding, but he did not respond," Klymenko said. “Consequently, the order was given to neutralize him.”
Recommended for you
Klymenko, who wore body armor, said the man was carrying a carbine, which was legally registered.
“Furthermore, in December of last year, 2025, he approached the licensing authorities to have the weapon test-fired as the permit was expiring. He provided a medical certificate. He had also submitted an application to renew his permit for the weapon. That is all we can say for now," Klymenko said.
He added that the investigation will determine which medical institution issued the certificate.
The shooting took place in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district, the mayor said. Televised footage of the scene showed police taking cover in the shopping mall that housed the supermarket while shots were fired. Bystanders were escorted away from the scene.
Katie Marie Davies contributed to this report from Manchester, England.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.