Shooter in Moldova identified as Tajikistan national

Moscow, Jun 30 (EFE).- The man who fatally shot two officials at Chisinau Interanational Airport on Friday is a 43-year-old citizen of Tajikistan who was denied entry to Moldova for “security reasons,” Prime Minister Dorin Recean said.

A border guard and an airport security officer were escorting the man to a holding area to await deportation when he grabbed a gun from one of them and started shooting, the premier said.

One traveler was wounded and is being treated at a hospital in Chisinau, the capital of the former Soviet republic of some 2.6 million residents.

The shooter, who arrived on a flight from Istanbul, was also injured when special forces took him into custody and he remains hospitalized under guard.

The assailant is listed in serious condition, interim chief prosecutor Ion Munteanu told a news conference, adding that the Tajik faces the possibility of life in prison for what Moldovan authorities have classified as a terrorist attack.

Moldova’s top police officer, Viorel Cernauteanu, said there was no evidence that the shooter was part of any military, paramilitary, or criminal organization.

“At this moment the danger has been eliminated,” police said on Facebook.

Flights resumed at Chisinau International within hours of the incident, which had prompted President Maia Sandu to put security forces and state institutions on alert.

“We send our sincere condolences to the bereaved families and relatives, the loss of loved ones is a great pain for the families,” Sandu wrote later on Facebook. “It’s a sad day for all of us.”

EFE mos/ks/dr