WORLD / EUROPE
Moscow gunman had shooting hobby: media
Published: Dec 20, 2019 08:48 PM

Russian security forces cordon off the scene after an armed assault near Federal Security Service building in Moscow, Russia on December 19, 2019. Photo: AFP



Russian media on Friday identified the man who opened fire near the headquarters of the FSB security agency in central Moscow, killing one person and wounding five, as a 39-year-old who practiced shooting as a hobby.

There has been no official confirmation of the identity of the attacker who was shot by security forces after the exchange of fire on Thursday, but Russian media named him as Yevgeny Manyurov, a former security guard who lived in the town of Podolsk.

Numerous channels on the Telegram messenger service published a photo of the dead gunman, a bearded man in glasses with his face bloodied, dressed in black with a wolf's head design on his sweatshirt.

The Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said one officer from the security service was killed and five people, including one civilian, were being treated for injuries.

Russia has not said the shooting was terror-related and has opened a probe only into attacks on law enforcement officials.

The attack came on the Day of Military Counter-Intelligence, a professional holiday, and on the eve of Friday's Day of Security Service.