A passenger who had stepped foot off a flight from Istanbul to Chisinau International Airport in Moldova allegedly shot dead a border guard and an airport employee after he was denied entry to the Eastern European country.
The incident occurred at around 5 pm on Friday in the secure ‘airside’ area of Chisinau airport after the suspect had been detained by the immigration authorities while arrangements were being made to return him to Turkey.
The suspect, a 43-year-old man who is believed to have originally come from Tajikistan, was shot by officers from a specialist police unit and is currently receiving medical care. The whole incident lasted less than two and a half minutes, General Inspectorate of Police Viorel Chernăuțeanu said.
Prosecutors say the man arrived at Chisinau Airport yesterday afternoon and was ‘isolated’ after he was denied entry. Around two hours later, the suspect grabbed a gun from the holster of a border guard.
The suspect then allegedly shot dead the border guard and an airport security guard.
Chernăuțeanu said a “firefight” ensued, and passengers were evacuated from the terminal. The suspect was neutralised just two minutes later.
“The foreign citizen became aggressive in half a second,” Acting Prosecutor General Ion Munteanu explained. “The border guard was hit unexpectedly. He did not expect such a reaction. We can conclude that this is a physically well-prepared person.”
