Six Dead in Kyiv Mass Shooting as Police Kill Gunman

A 58-year-old Moscow-born gunman killed six people in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district on Saturday before taking hostages inside a supermarket, where he was shot dead by police after a 40-minute standoff. Four people died on the street from gunfire, a woman died later in hospital from severe injuries, and one hostage was killed inside the store, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At least 14 others were wounded, including a 12-year-old boy whose parents were killed in the attack, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said.

The attacker opened fire on civilians in the busy central district before barricading himself inside the supermarket with customers and staff as hostages. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the gunman approached victims at close range. "He was simply shooting people at close range. He approached and shot them," Klymenko said. "So people had very little chance of survival."

Special tactical police units stormed the supermarket after attempts to contact the gunman with a negotiator failed. During the standoff, a female negotiator wearing body armor stood behind an armored vehicle and used a loudspeaker to appeal to the attacker. "The people are not to blame for this. Please let them go, and we will talk with you," she called out.

Klymenko said officers offered to bring tourniquets to stop bleeding from a wounded person inside but received no response. "We tried to persuade him, knowing that there was likely a wounded person inside," Klymenko told the Associated Press. "Consequently, the order was given to neutralize him," particularly after the gunman killed one hostage. Four hostages were freed before police stormed the building.

The gunman held a legally registered automatic weapon and had approached licensing authorities as recently as December 2025 to renew his weapons permit, submitting a valid medical certificate at the time, Klymenko said. Investigators would determine which medical institution issued the document. Zelenskyy said the attacker had a prior criminal record and had lived in the Donetsk region for a long time before the shooting.

Before opening fire on the street, the gunman set fire to his apartment. Neighbors described him as isolated. "I knew him by sight. He seemed like an educated, refined man. You'd never guess he was some kind of criminal," said 75-year-old Hanna Kulyk, who lived in the same apartment block. "He didn't socialize much with people — just a greeting and he'd be on his way. He lived alone."

Ukraine's security service designated the attack a terrorist act. Zelenskyy said investigators were examining multiple theories about the gunman's motive and would check all his electronic devices, phone records, and contacts. "Every detail must be verified," Zelenskyy said. The circumstances surrounding how the gunman obtained his weapons permit are now under investigation.

The mass shooting was rare for Kyiv during wartime. While the city regularly experiences attacks during Russia's ongoing invasion, civilian mass shootings have been uncommon in the capital.