The agency offered several conflicting accounts of what happened. According to an initial briefing, a group of three gunmen entered the lobby of the building shortly after 6pm local time, firing automatic rounds as they approached security officers. Two of the gunmen were killed, but one ran out onto the street, and then continued to exchange fire with officers.

A later briefing contradicted this, and said that only one gunman was involved. He gunman was intercepted and killed, provisionally describing the attack as “an act of terrorism.”

There is as yet no confirmed figures on causalities. One account associated with Russian authorities, 112, reported that three presidential security officers were killed in the exchange of fire. Another, Mash, reported a traffic policeman had died. There are reports of two civilian casualties, at least one of which is serious.

Footage from the scene depicts civilians fleeing in a state of panic, with drivers abandoning their cars and running for their lives.