An eyewitness to the shooting, Oksana, told RT it happened right in front of a Christian church. The gunman targeted people as they were leaving, but luckily many of the churchgoers managed to take cover inside the building, giving more time for the security guards to respond to the attack.
“There were a lot of people there, moms with little children, elderly people. I believe God saved us, not allowing the man to get inside the church,” the woman said. She added the gunman was killed as he was attempting to flee the scene.
The death toll of the attack has risen from four to five people after a woman, who was among those delivered to the hospital, “died on the operation table,” the Dagestani Health Ministry told Interfax. “According to preliminary data, the condition of the two other (patients) is critical,” it added.
The health ministry said five people were wounded in the shooting and hospitalized. The interior ministry announced two of whom were security personnel who responded to the shooting and gunned down the attacker.
The four fatalities on site were all civilian women leaving the church, according to law enforcement. Interfax also cites a source as saying that the gunman had a female accomplice who fled before the shooting started.
