April 21 (Reuters) – A gunman who killed seven people in a mass shooting in Kyiv on Saturday had quarrelled with his neighbour before he opened fire on passersby, public broadcaster Suspilne cited Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko as saying on Tuesday.
The man had been in a long-running dispute with his neighbour and on the day of the attack the two had argued, Suspilne reported, citing Klymenko. After shooting several people the man barricaded himself inside a supermarket with hostages, where he was shot dead by police.
Klymenko on Tuesday outlined the shooter’s actions: First he fired shots from a non-lethal pistol near the entrance to his building, then he returned to his apartment and grabbed a rifle, set the apartment on fire and went out into the street.
The shooter had been recording the events on a dictaphone, likely to keep a record of the dispute in case of possible defence, Suspilne said citing the minister.
“That is, he may not have intended to shoot,” Klymenko was quoted as saying. “He was recording this scandal so that he would not be accused later in court, for example, or by the police of having told someone something.”
Such shootings are extremely rare in Ukraine. The incident has sparked a debate on the public’s right to own guns for self-defence, as well as an outcry over the actions of two patrol police officers who were filmed running away after hearing gunfire, leaving civilians unprotected.
A drawing of the outline of a body above the words “Who is protecting who?” appeared on a road near the site of the incident.
Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda cited Klymenko as saying that the entire management chain of Kyiv’s patrol police department has been removed from their posts.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Hugh Lawson)
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