Police in central Ukraine have launched a criminal investigation into a shooting inside the Svitlovodsk City Council building in the Kirovohrad region that left two people injured, authorities said.
According to Oksana Kovtunenko, a spokesperson for the Kirovohrad State Police Department, officers received a report of the incident at around 11:48 a.m. local time on Monday, according to Ukrinform.
“It is preliminarily known that there was a conflict between the employees of the city council, as a result of which one of them fired several shots,” she reported.
Preliminary findings suggest that three men entered the office of the first deputy mayor, where a conflict broke out between the official and the visitors. During the altercation, the official allegedly used a traumatic gun, firing several shots in the direction of the visitors.
Two individuals were wounded in the incident and were taken to medical facilities for treatment, police said. Law enforcement officials detained the city official, and the weapon used in the shooting was seized as evidence.
Investigators have opened criminal proceedings under Part 4 of Article 296 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which covers hooliganism involving the use of weapons.
The charge carries a potential penalty of three to seven years in prison.
Reports indicate that the confrontation may have followed a dispute involving the First Deputy Mayor Serhiy Savych and city council secretary Maksym Bakumenko, though officials have not yet confirmed the exact details.
Authorities said investigative actions are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the incident.