In the village of Liutezh, Vyshhorod district, Kyiv region, a shooting occurred inside a retail establishment. According to police, a 30-year-old man, following a conflict with a local resident, drew a firearm and discharged several shots. Law enforcement officers promptly detained the suspect and informed him of suspicion of hooliganism with the use of a weapon.
Chronology of the incident at the supermarket
According to the Criminal Police of the Kyiv region, a conflict arose directly in the sales hall between a 30-year-old man and one of the local residents. Afterward, the perpetrator left the store and headed toward a Volkswagen car belonging to an acquaintance. There, he retrieved the weapon and returned to the premises, where he fired two shots at the floor. The suspect then went outside and fired into the air, after which he got into someone else's car and fled the scene.
Detention and procedural decision
Criminal police officers promptly established the location of the suspect and detained him. The man was placed in a temporary detention center, and the seized weapons and other material evidence were sent for further examination. Under the procedural supervision of the Vyshhorod District Prosecutor's Office, investigators informed the 30-year-old suspect of suspicion under Part 4 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — hooliganism with the use of a firearm. The sanction of this article provides for punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty for a term of three to seven years. The investigation is ongoing.
Context: A series of shooting incidents in Ukraine
The incident in Liutezh was the latest in a series of recent incidents involving the use of firearms in various regions of the country. Recently, in the center of Dnipro, a brawl involving a group of men and security personnel occurred near one of the establishments, resulting in several injuries. In the park in Lubny, Poltava region, a man opened fire on police officers during a document check, causing one of the law enforcement officers to sustain a gunshot wound. A similar episode was also recorded in the Kyiv region: in the center of Bila Tserkva, an unknown person shot an 18-year-old youth, who was urgently hospitalized.
What this means for the suspect
Qualifying the actions under Part 4 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine means that the use of a firearm during hooliganism is considered an aggravating circumstance, raising the upper limit of punishment to seven years of imprisonment. The final decision on the case will be made by the court upon completion of the investigation, during which, as law enforcement officers note, all circumstances of the conflict are being established and additional episodes are being checked.
