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Authorities announce name of Dagestan church shooter

The shooter has been identified as Khalil Khalilov, 22, a resident of the Rassvet settlement located in the Tarumovsky District of Dagestan

MAKHACHKALA, February 19. /TASS/. Authorities in Kizlyar, a town in the Russian North Caucasus region of Dagestan, have identified the man who carried out a shooting attack on a local Orthodox church, as Khalil Khalilov, 22, coming from the Tarumovsky District of Dagestan, the Kizlyar mayor’s office said in a statement published on its website.

"The shooter has been identified as Khalil Khalilov, 22, a resident of the Rassvet settlement located in the Tarumovsky District of Dagestan," the statement reads.

On Sunday, an armed man opened gunfire at people leaving an Orthodox church in Kizlyar, killing five and wounding four people, including police and National Guard officers. The gunman was shot dead by the police while trying to flee the scene.

The man was identified as a 22-year-old local resident. Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case under Articles 105.2 (murder with aggravating circumstances) and 317 (attempt on the life of a law enforcer) of the Russian Criminal Code.

Kizlyar, located 170 kilometers from Dagestan’s capital of Makhachkala, has a population of around 50,000. People of ten ethnic groups live in the town, with Russians accounting for about 40% of the population.

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