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Four remain in hospital following Dagestan church shooting

On February 18, an armed man opened gunfire at people leaving an Orthodox church in Kizlyar, killing five people

MAKHACHKALA, February 19. /TASS/. Four people remain hospitalized after a shooter opened fire at a church in Kizlyar, a town in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, on Sunday, the chief doctor of a local hospital told TASS.

"The victims remain in the same condition, two women are seriously injured, and they are in intensive care. A police officer and a Rosgvardiya fighter are in moderately severe condition," Kazanfar Kurbanov, the chief doctor at the Dagestani emergency medicine center, said.

One of the injured women had her arm cut off on Sunday.

On February 18, an armed man opened gunfire at people leaving an Orthodox church in Kizlyar, killing five and wounding four others, including police and National Guard officers. All the victims had gunshot wounds. 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 Khalil Khalilov. Russia’s Investigative Committee 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.