The attacker has been captured by police, the Moldovan Interior Ministry has said, adding that flights are still disrupted
© RT
A gunman opened fire at Moldova’s biggest airport on Friday, the nation’s Inferior Ministry has said. The assailant killed at least two people, including a border guard, according to the authorities.
A police special forces unit was dispatched to Chisinau International Airport and managed to neutralize and capture the attacker, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The suspect was injured and was receiving medical aid, it added.
“We confirm the existence of two victims,” the ministry said, without revealing their identities.
Later, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Facebook that the suspect was identified as a 43-year-old citizen of Tajikistan who had been denied entry to Moldova “for security reasons.” The man was being escorted to the airport’s sterile zone to be sent back to where he came from when he “stole” a gun from a border police officer, the prime minister said. The attacker fatally shot the officer and an airport security employee, he added.
A passenger was also injured in the incident, Recean said, adding that the alert level has been raised to “ensure security and public order.” A criminal case has been opened into the incident, he added.
Earlier, the local media reported that the gunman had allegedly arrived on a flight from Türkiye. Some media outlets previously identified him as a “Russian citizen” and a “member of the military, possibly from the Wagner private military company.”
All flights to and from the airport were delayed and all passengers were evacuated, the Moldovan authorities said, adding that air traffic remains “disrupted.”
