Russia church shooting leaves 4 dead after gunman opens fire at festival

Four people were killed and several others were injured after a gunman opened fire on people leaving a church service in Russia’s Dagestan region on Sunday, Russian news agency Tass reported.

The shooting took place outside a church in the town of Kizlyar, according to Tass.

The agency cited Mayor Alexander Shuvalov as the source for the number of people killed and wounded.

“People were leaving a church after an evening service when he opened gunfire at them,” Shuvalov told TASS. Two police officers and a woman were among the wounded, according to Shuvalov.

An eyewitness posted a video of the shooting on Twitter, which captured the moment shots were being fired.

Parishioners were at the church celebrating the end of the Russian festival of Maslenitsa, which marks the start of Lent for Russian Orthodox Christians, according to RT.

An eyewitness to the shooting, Oksana, told RT the gunman targeted people as they were leaving the church, but many took cover inside the building.

“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 told the news outlet.

This is a developing story. Check back for Updates.