Gunman Kills 1, Wounds 5 at Moscow Intelligence HQ

Russia says attacker was 'neutralized'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 20, 2019 1:02 AM CST
Gunman Kills 1, Wounds 5 at Moscow Intelligence HQ
Russian police officers secure the area near the building of the Federal Security Service (FSB, Soviet KGB successor) in the background in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019.   (AP Photo/Ilya Varlamov)

An unidentified gunman opened fire Thursday outside the Moscow headquarters of Russia's top security agency, killing one officer and wounding five others, officials said. The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said the assailant was acting alone and didn't enter its building. Earlier, it said the assailant had been "neutralized"—a term usually used by Russian officials when an assailant is killed. The Health Ministry said that five other people were wounded in the shooting, including two security officers who were badly injured by the gunman, the AP reports. One of the wounded is a civilian, said Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for Russia's main criminal investigation body.

The FSB, which is the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, wouldn't give further details or comment on the attacker's motives. The FSB said the shooting occurred near its main headquarters on Lubyanka Square, less than a half-mile from Red Square. Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the president had been informed of the shooting that came shortly after the Russian leader's annual news conference. At about the same time when the shooting happened, Putin, a KGB veteran, made a speech at a Kremlin concert for FSB and other Russian security personnel. (During the news conference, Putin discussed issues including Trump's impeachment and Lenin's tomb.)

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