Taking hostages in a store: proceedings opened against a shooter from Ternopil

In Ternopil, law enforcement officers have launched criminal proceedings against a man who held people hostage in a store and opened fire. The issue of notifying the suspect of the suspicion and choosing a preventive measure is being decided, UNN reports citing the National Police.

Context

On Tuesday, November 5, at around 11:00 a.m., a report was received that an armed man had entered a store on Danylo Halytskoho Boulevard in Ternopil and begun threatening people. Later, shots were heard from the store.

A special police operation was launched in the city. Police officers and all the necessary specialized services promptly arrived at the scene.

Law enforcement officers established that the man was holding people hostage in the store. During negotiations, the police managed to distract the perpetrator, which the people took advantage of to run out of the premises through a service exit. At that moment, the suspect detonated an object resembling a grenade and began firing indiscriminately.

Thanks to the coordinated actions of KORD special forces officers, the armed offender was detained. He turned out to be a 53-year-old resident of Ternopil. An object resembling a pistol and a hunting knife were seized from him.

No one was injured in the incident. It was established that the suspect was intoxicated.

Details

According to the police, police investigators established that some time before the incident, the detainee had already come to the store, behaved aggressively, and engaged in a conflict with store employees. After that, he left the store, but later returned with a weapon.

The suspect was detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Information regarding this fact was entered into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations under Part 2 of Article 146 (unlawful deprivation of liberty) and Part 1 of Article 345 (threat or violence against a law enforcement officer) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. During the pretrial investigation, the suspect’s actions will be given a final legal classification.