Law enforcement in Moldova says two people have been shot and killed at the Chisinau International Airport on Friday by a foreign national from Tajikistan who was denied entry on arrival to the airport.
President Maia Sandu said in a statement that the man had shot a border police officer and an airport security employee.
Authorities confirmed on Facebook that the person had been taken into custody and was being treated for an injury.
The suspect was being escorted by officials at the airport when he took the gun of a border guard and opened fire, officials said.
One witness, Olena Shevelyova, said she heard four or five bullets.
“We heard some guns shooting and we were asked to go in some buildings here … to hide behind the buildings,” she told Reuters by phone.
Shevelyova, 48, a Ukrainian executive who had been waiting to board a flight to Milan, said she heard ambulances coming near the airport.
“It was unclear if there was a bomb or something had happened. It was only after we went far away from the airport that we were told there is someone who is shooting.”
“We send our sincere condolences to the bereaved families and relatives, the loss of loved ones is a great pain for the families,” Sandu said in a statement on Facebook. “It’s a sad day for all of us.”
Sandu added that state institutions had been placed on high alert, with police and law enforcement agencies “mobilized throughout the Republic of Moldova” in response.
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said in a statement a wounded passenger was being treated by doctors following the shooting.
All passengers have been evacuated from the airport, authorities said.
With files from Reuters.