A foreigner opened fire inside Chisinau International Airport, Moldova’s Ministry of Interior reported.
The man came to Moldova from Türkiye, according to Puls Media, Moldova’s news agency. After he was denied entry to Moldova, the man attacked an airport security employee, whom he disarmed and shot dead, Puls media reported.
Moldova’s police confirmed that two people died during gunfire at the country’s main international airport today. All flights were delayed and passengers evacuated until police neutralized the shooter, Moldova’s police spox Diana Fetko said.
The man who opened fire at the airport was allegedly disarmed and handcuffed by police, according to Puls Media.
“Our sources claim that the shooter is a Russian soldier, a mercenary of the Wagner Group, who allegedly participated in the war against Ukraine,” Puls Media reported.
Moldova’s authorities have yet to confirm or deny whether the shooter was a Russian citizen who had taken part in the war in Ukraine. The Moldovan Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal case under Article 278, paragraph 4 of the Criminal Code (an act of terrorism that led to the death of several people).
UPD. The Prime Minister of Moldova claimed that the shooter was a citizen of Tajikistan, the former Soviet republic. Whether he participated in the war against Ukraine as a Wagner mercenary has not been confirmed yet.
Related:
- Wagner Group still recruiting despite mutiny, BBC finds
- Wagner troops will no longer fight in Ukraine, spy chief Kyrylo Budanov says
- Putin acknowledges that Russian state fully funded Wagner Group “private military company”
- Putin allows Wagner fighters to “leave to Belarus,” quit, or subordinate to Russia’s MoD
- Prigozhin’s failed mutiny: What made him back down?
- Prigozhin stops Wagner forces 200 km away from Moscow, says they return to field camps
