A man has opened fire at two police officers not far from the Foreign Ministry building in central Moscow, injuring one of them. The shooter was critically injured by return fire and reportedly died in hospital.

“A man, who was walking along the Sivtsev Vrazhek Lane in Moscow has opened fire at the police officers with no apparent reason as they were passing by,” Yulia Ivanova, Russia’s Investigative Committee spokeswoman, told Interfax.

The officers employed firearms against the perpetrator and injured him, Ivanova said, adding that the man was disarmed and then delivered to a medical facility.

A criminal case on the endangerment of the life of a law enforcement officer has been launched, she added.

A video published by the Mash Telegram channel showed the injured attacker lying on the pavement and two officers guarding him, as well as the arrival of police reinforcements at the scene.

Photos from the scene, posted on social media, also showed a handgun, resembling the Soviet-made Stechkin automatic pistol, on the ground.

Moscow police said that the attack took place at around 20:00 local time and targeted the officers providing security to the diplomatic missions in the area.

The injured police officer received a non-life-threatening wound to the leg, RIA Novosti reported.

The attacker has died in hospital from a gunshot wound to the head, a source told TASS, adding that the man was identified as a 31-year-old resident of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia’s North Caucasus.

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