A man who opened fire at a Russian municipal office, killing at least two people and injuring four others, is believed to have lashed out after being told to wear a face covering, local media outlets have reported.
According to a police source for business daily RBK, 45-year-old veteran Sergey Glazov shot up a branch of MFC, used by Russian citizens for processing official documents, in the south-east of Moscow on Tuesday.
Kommersant has since reported that the man took out a gun and began shooting after he was stopped by a security guard and asked to wear a face mask in line with the country’s current Covid-19 rules. According to security forces, Glazov fired a gun modified to shoot live ammunition.
Two people are understood to have lost their lives during the incident, which occurred at the multi-functional public service center in the Ryazansky district, around 12 kilometers from the city’s Red Square. Speaking to reporters, Moscow’s Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova said that the building’s administrator and security guard had died in the incident. According to her, the man had come in to obtain a passport.
The number of injured currently stands at four and includes an employee of the State Budgetary Institution for Housing and an employee of the administrative building, as well as two visitors, including a 10-year-old child, Rakova said.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin took to Twitter in the wake of the incident, writing “I offer my condolences to the victims and the families of the victims,” and said that “doctors are doing their best to help the wounded.”
A law enforcement spokeswoman, Irina Volk, has confirmed that “the detainee has been taken to the police department."