Neighbors of linguist Iryna Farion, who died in hospital after an assassination attempt, said that the unknown person who shot her had been following her for several weeks before the murder, UNN reports citing Suspilne.
"She left the house with a suitcase and was waiting for a taxi. And then this happened. I heard a bang! I look and he ran away, ran into the tunnel there. Behind the house, out of the house, to Warsaw Street. And she was lying there. That was it. The car had just arrived and was calling, and there she was lying. She wouldn't pick up the phone. A woman neighbor thought she would pick up and tell her, but the phone didn't work. A man was washing his hands near the car, and I told him: "Run". He would have caught up with him. I don't know, he called an ambulance," said Farion's neighbor Maria Babiuk.
She noted that for several weeks this man had been watching the entrance where Iryna Farion lives.
"He's been here for two weeks, just watching. He was here every day since the week before last. Every day at 10 o'clock he sat on a bench here. Neighbors would come up to him and ask: "How are you sitting here, don't you want to eat or drink?" He would say that he had lunch. They asked him: "Where are you from?" He said: "From Ternopil". I didn't talk to him. What do I have to do with him?" - Ms. Maria said.
Another neighbor said that despite the fact that the man was seen regularly, it was difficult to describe him because he was always wearing closed clothes, a hat, glasses, and red gloves.
"I had this intuition that something must be going on. I even went up to two neighbors and drew their attention to him, saying that something was wrong, because he was sitting here for a very long time, watching. That's how it all ended in tragedy. He had a strange image, he was disguised. He did everything to make sure that no one recognized him. The headdress, the glasses, it seemed to me that those glasses were like those people wear when they go to the mountains. It was hard to recognize him. He was a young guy. His behavior was like this... he was not nervous, he was sitting calmly, leg over leg. I also saw that he had such manipulations - he folded his arms differently, maybe they were stiff, and he was kneading them. I did not like it. This is not normal behavior," said neighbor Tamara Shevchenko.
She added that she also saw this man on the day of the murder.
"Yesterday, I was walking home from work on one side of Varshavska Street, and he was walking on the parallel side. It was about half past 6. He came, sat on a bench, and kept looking in that direction. That was it. I was surprised: the playground, the people, and he didn't look anywhere but there. Farion lived there. I had the impression that he was stalking someone, tracking them down," the neighbor added.
Another neighbor, who refused to give his name, recalls seeing the man coming into the yard on several occasions.
"He looks strange: sneakers, socks, sweatpants, a sweatshirt, glasses. It's hot outside, and he sits there like this. He always wears a hat and glasses, and he's always stuck right into the sixth doorway," said the neighbor.
Recall
On July 19, an unidentified person shot at Iryna Farion, a linguist and professor at Lviv Polytechnic. The woman was taken to the hospital with a head wound in extremely serious condition.
Irina Farion died in the hospital.
The police have several versions of the murder of linguist Irina Farion, including public and political activities and personal animosity. Law enforcement officers found a shell casing after the shooting and do not rule out a "Russian trace" in the crime.
In the morning, the police, together with the SBU, are taking a set of measures to detain the attacker who shot Farion. Law enforcement officers are interviewing eyewitnesses, checking information, studying surveillance video, and taking other measures to identify the attacker and his whereabouts.
The funeral for linguist Iryna Farion will be held on July 21 at 19:00 in the Garrison Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Lviv, the funeral will take place the next day, July 22, and the public figure will be buried at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv.