Footage shows the astonishing moment a man armed with an AK-47 assault rifle began shooting in a Ukrainian supermarket.
The gunman opened fire indiscriminately, triggering panic from shoppers and staff – who ‘ducked’ and fled the building.
Astonishingly, none were hurt before police in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine ‘risked their lives’ to overpower and detain the shooter.
A saleswoman said: ‘People ran to the exit, I also rushed out and fled into a utility room. The sounds [of gunshots] kept repeating.’
Another cowering staff sales assistant said: ‘The police officers arrived very quickly and managed to disarm this man.
‘And then, in fact, they sorted out the situation. And only after that we were called and told that we could go out.’
The man apparently shot not at people but at the shelves in the supermarket.
He is seen firing in the alcohol section and near the shelves with spaghetti, rice and sugar.
Footage shows the astonishing moment a man armed with an AK-47 assault rifle began shooting in a Ukrainian supermarket
began shooting in a Ukrainian supermarket. The gunman opened fire indiscriminately, triggering panic from shoppers and staff – who ‘ducked’ and fled the building
He is seen being confronted by police who ran towards him near the vegetable counter and throwing down his firearm before being taken into custody.
A report said female shop employees had pressed a panic button, after which police officers ‘arrived and neutralised him’.
‘One of the officers opened fire on the attacker with a pistol, then ran towards him and was able to disarm him.’
It was unclear what injuries the shooter sustained or if he was hit.
He was seen tied to a chair. The incident was on the evening of Christmas Day but the footage has only emerged now.
No immediate reason was given for the motive of the Kalashnikov-wielding man.
The Putin-appointed puppet ruler of Donetsk Denis Pushilin awarded bravery medals to the police officers who ‘distinguished themselves in the capture of the criminal’.
