In the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv, a man opened fire on passersby on the street, and then burst into a supermarket, where he held those present hostage. The attacker was eliminated during the storming of the store. As a result of the shooting, six people were killed and 14 were injured, including a child. The SBU qualifies the shooting of civilians as a terrorist act.
The capital's police were notified of the shooting in the Holosiivskyi district after 5:00 p.m. A special operation to detain the suspected attacker began, and KORD special forces went to the scene.
Police officers work at the scene of the shooting of people in the Holosiivskyi district. Kyiv, April 18, 2026. Social News/Ivan Antipenko
After the shooting on the street, a man barricaded himself in a supermarket, where he held four customers and employees hostage. In addition, the attacker shot a young man and wounded another person, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Negotiations with the attacker lasted about 40 minutes, but did not yield any results. After that, it was decided to storm the store.
“We tried to persuade him for 40 minutes. He didn't react. That's why there was a command to eliminate him, especially after he killed one hostage,” said Klymenko.
Before the storming of the supermarket, where the attacker was holding hostages. Kyiv, April 18, 2026. Social News/Ivan Antipenko
He said that the attacker acted chaotically and used a registered weapon.
“He just approached and shot people at close range. People had practically no chance of survival. But he was shooting single shots, it was a carbine. Previously, it was in inadequate condition,” the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs noted.
Special forces at the scene of the shooting of people in the Holosiivskyi district. Kyiv, April 18, 2026. Social News/Ivan Antipenko
According to Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, the suspect is a 58-year-old native of Moscow.
“According to preliminary data, he used an automatic weapon. At the same time, a fire broke out in the apartment where the attacker was registered,” the Prosecutor General informed.
As stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky, the attacker has already been brought to criminal responsibility before. He lived in the Donetsk region for a long time, was born in Russia. According to him, investigators have several versions of why the man started shooting, and continue to conduct an investigation.
SBU qualifies the shooting of civilians and taking of hostages in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv as a terrorist act
The Security Service of Ukraine has opened criminal proceedings under Part 3 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – a terrorist act that resulted in the death of people.
“According to available information, the crime was committed by a man born in 1968, who was armed with a registered firearm. 6 people have already died from his actions, and 9 more people, according to preliminary data, have been hospitalized with wounds and injuries of varying degrees,” the SBU said in a statement.
A special forces officer at the scene of the shooting of people in the Holosiivskyi district. Kyiv, April 18, 2026. Social News/Ivan Antipenko
About the dead and wounded
As of 7:10 p.m., six people have died in the shooting. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said the sixth victim was a 30-year-old woman who died in hospital. Her identity is being established.
According to law enforcement officials, the attacker shot four people on the street, and another, a 25-year-old man, in a supermarket.
According to Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, the attacker killed the mother and father of an 11-year-old boy: the child was injured.
“The man who died at the scene, and the woman who died from her injuries in the hospital. Their son, born in 2015, with a gunshot wound is in a children's medical facility, where he is receiving the necessary assistance,” Kravchenko wrote on Telegram.
Special forces lead a woman to an ambulance. Kyiv, April 18, 2026. Social News/Ivan Antipenko
The mayor previously reported 15 injured people, of whom 10 were hospitalized . Among them is one child and a security guard at the supermarket where the shooter broke into and is currently located.
“Medics also provided assistance to 6 victims on the spot. In particular, a four-month-old child who was poisoned by carbon monoxide in an apartment next to the one that was set on fire by a shooter on the street and in the supermarket before the tragedy. The child's parents refused hospitalization,” Klitschko wrote on Telegram.
A special forces officer near a window with a bullet hole. Kyiv, April 28, 2026. Social News/Ivan Antipenko
Tetyana Mostepan, Director of the Department of Health of the Kyiv City State Administration, spoke on the air of “Suspilne Studio” about the condition of the wounded. According to her, nine people are currently in the hospital.
“One child is in moderate condition, stable. Three are in serious condition and five are in stable moderate condition. Full assistance is being provided,” Mostepan said.
What the neighbors say about the shooter
Hanna Kulyk, a resident of the building where the attacker lived, says she was not at home when the shooting and fire occurred. She learned about everything from a neighbor.
“I was riding the subway, my neighbor called me and asked: Aunt Anya, where are you? And I said: in the subway. And she said: this is happening here, people are being killed in our yard and there is a fire,” shares Ms. Hanna.
About the man who committed the shooting, he says: he was withdrawn, he didn't communicate with people.
“The shooter lived on the 5th floor, and I lived on the 9th. But I know him well. He lived alone. His family wasn't here. I would never have thought he could do something like this. I think he was exiled by the Russians. His name is probably Dima,” the woman says.
She adds that she knew one of the deceased. The man's name was Alexander, and he was about 30 years old.
“A very nice guy, a very decent family man, he has two children,” she recalls.
An apartment that the attacker set on fire before starting to shoot people. Kyiv, April 18, 2026. Social News/Ivan Antipenko
“He lived here for about 10 years, in this house. At first I read on my phone what was happening at Walmart, then an hour later I heard. I didn't even think it was gunshots,” says another neighbor, Valentina.