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Around 5:00 PM yesterday, a 43-year-old Tajikistan man was denied entry to Moldova after arriving from Istanbul. While being taken to a holding area within Chisinau International Airport (KIV), he managed to seize a gun from an airport border police officer and proceeded to fatally shoot the border police officer and an airport security guard. It was unknown at the time, but the man has ties to organized crime in Tajikstan.
#Moldova 🇲🇩 BREAKING: an attack took place on #Chisinau airport.
A Russian citizen who was denied entry into the country is reported to have grabbed the gun of a border guard and killed two people with it. He is now under arrest. pic.twitter.com/4dyHYt866z
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) June 30, 2023
🇲🇩 Wagner PMC fighter killed a border guard at Chisinau airport, special forces are storming
This is reported by local media.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova reported two victims at the Chisinau airport after the shooting incident.
The man, who arrived from pic.twitter.com/e4K0odZK1y— Zlatti71 (@djuric_zlatko) June 30, 2023
Gunfire was returned by agents in the airport and the passenger ended up being shot (but only injured). The incident lasted less than three minutes and local authorities were unaware of the suspect’s background according to the General Inspectorate of Police, Viorel Chernăuțeanu. Videos taken on the scene showed passengers waiting on the grass outside of the airport after the building was evacuated. Departures and Arrivals at the airport had been halted with a groundstop.
Government Press Secretary, Daniel Voda, told Moldovan TV:
All measures have been taken to bring the situation back to normal. Law enforcers will continue to ensure security and public order at the airport.”
There has been no official word on motive, but the shooter has been identified as Rustam Ashurov. He is suspected to be part of an organized crime group that is believed to have kidnapped the deputy chairman of a Tajik bank in Dushanbe on June 23rd.
Tensions have been high in pro-West Moldova following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Fears that Moscow could bring the war to Moldova have increased as it wages on. The Moldovan government has been critical of Russia.
Anthony’s Take: This is a sad situation and my condolences go out to the families who lost their loved ones yesterday in this senseless act. Once inside an airport, you think you’re safe. It seems like you never know when an incident will occur.
(Featured Image Credit: Associated Press.)
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1 comment
Tajikistan is 97% Muslim.
What are the odds that the airport shooter….oh, never mind. Lone wolf syndrome.