Photo: National Police of Ukraine
The man who opened fire on police officers in Odesa on the evening of March 25 was killed during his apprehension, the National Police reported. During the arrest, he continued to use his weapon against law enforcement.
“The man who shot at patrol officers in Odesa died during the arrest. He refused to cooperate with negotiators and used a weapon against the KORD unit during the operation. The use of force was necessary to eliminate the threat to the lives of the officers,” the statement said.
Authorities noted that the suspect was wanted for violating military registration rules. When police stopped him to check his documents, he began shooting.
“To detain the shooter, a special police operation was launched in the region. Within a few hours, police located him hiding in an unfinished building. During negotiations, the man opened fire from the third floor, and KORD officers returned fire. The suspect was killed,” the National Police added.
Investigators are currently working at the scene, and the State Bureau of Investigation and the prosecutor’s office have been informed.
For context, in January in the Cherkasy region, four police officers were killed while attempting to detain a suspect accused of attempted murder. Former Cherkasy city council secretary Yaroslav Nyshchyk said the shooter was his comrade, Serhiy Rusinov, who had a conflict with city council deputy Vitaliy Storozhuk. According to Nyshchyk, Storozhuk had attended a forum in Russia in 2011, where Vladimir Putin spoke, and tried to seize Rusinov’s land. The veteran allegedly set fire to Storozhuk’s car, and the police classified the case as attempted murder. Storozhuk later stated that false and speculative information had spread online. The investigation is ongoing.
