Mass shooting in Sagarejo - Former military serviceman opened fire on civilians and law enforcement officers

On the night of January 20, former Military Serviceman Nodar Atunashvili opened fire on citizens from the balcony of a residential building in Sagarejo. According to the information of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 5 people were killed, including 1 policeman. There are also injured.

He was in the military, as we know. What was confirmed to us operationally. He has been working since 2016, he left in 2021. It's primary information and I can't tell you exactly, but that's what we were told, that he left the military service in  2021. Before that, he also fought in Afghanistan, in the Afghan mission, as was confirmed to us - said Gomelauri.

The Minister of Internal Affairs also recalls the moment when law enforcement officers entered the attacker's apartment:

What happened, no one knows yet... the special forces arrived, the event began. They called on him to cease, of course, he fired a few more shots, when they opened the doors, the police and special forces, there was a sound of gunshots when they entered. He was lying on the bed and an automatic firearm was next to him..., Gomelauri said.

The gunman killed 4 civilians and a policeman, the injured were transported to the hospital.

 I want to express my condolences to the families. 5 people have died, one of the 5 is our employee, unfortunately. 5 people are wounded. One of them is in a serious condition, a surgery is being performed and the doctors cannot tell us how serious it is. His artery is damaged and they cannot tell us exactly whether he will survive or not. May God save him...

No one can explain what happened. The citizen started shooting from a house with an automatic weapon. His son was at home. That son is also an adult. He started shooting from one side of the balcony, then from the other side. The son then left home. The son came out. Then police officers arrived, upon which he opened fire from the other side, during which our employee was injured. Our employee also died while being taken to the hospital. We know this musch so far - says Gomelauri.

The witnesses described the harrowing event as the gunman opened fire on them and used explosives. 

"He didn't ask for anything. He just opened fire. He was a former fighter, I don't know, as far as I know. He lived as a hermit. He lived here for less than 10 years, he was a newly acquired neighbor. He lived by himself. So he was going in and out of the house alone... and as far as we knew, he had some kind of psychological problems. He just started shooting. He shot us three times, then he moved back and shot from the back... There he started shooting at the Ioli's store and I think he even hit two girls in the store and he killed the policemen there as far as I know and he killed 4 of us. We just rushed to the entrance. He first threw a bottle with some substance in it and that substance exploded and then we realized that he started shooting again and we rushed and those who managed to rush in, survived, those who didn't, were shot. He just started shooting at us - says one of the eyewitnesses.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the investigation into the armed attack in Sagarejo was started under two charges.

According to the report of the agency, the investigation is being conducted under Article 109, subsection "l" and Article 236, part three of the Criminal Code, which refers to intentional murder committed under aggravating circumstances and illegal purchase, storage and carrying of firearms and ammunition.

The "golden witness" of the armed attack, the son of the attacker, was taken for questioning. Other eyewitnesses are being questioned at the police station.

According to available information, after the former soldier opened fire in the direction of the neighbors, the son was able to get out of the house and warn others, he told the locals that there was an explosive substance in the apartment.

Investigative activities at the site have been completed. According to the information of "Mtavari", ammunition and hand grenades were removed from the apartment, although this has not yet been confirmed by the relevant agencies.