Two people died after a foreign national opened fire after he was denied entry at the Chisinau International Airport in Moldova on Friday.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement that special forces were dispatched to the airport to bring the situation under control following the confirmation of two deaths.
The incident took place when the Moldovan authorities at the Chisinau International Airport denied the foreign nation to enter the country, it said.
Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu expressed his condolences to the victims' families, calling it a "tragic day for Moldova."
"We've mobilized all forces to ensure passengers' safety. The attacker is neutralized. Flights will resume soon," said Popescu, who also serves as the nation's deputy prime minister.
According to unconfirmed media reports, he snatched a pistol from a border guard during the border check and then fired shots.
One border guard and another person were killed, preliminary reports said. According to unconfirmed reports, the man had also taken hostages earlier. The airport building was evacuated and air traffic was delayed.
The alleged perpetrator is a Russian citizen who had landed on a plane from Türkiye, local Moldovan media reported.
Moldova, a former Soviet republic, is located between Romania and Ukraine. It is a popular destination for Russians and an important transport hub and transit point. Russians make up an ethnic minority in Moldova.
Hundreds of Russian citizens land there every day. They are usually taken aside at passport control and questioned again separately about the reason for their entry.
The situation in Moldova, which is pushing to join the European Union, is politically tense because of Russian attempts to exert influence there.
In addition, the Moldovan security forces want to prevent Russian fighters from entering there covertly in order to destabilize the situation in the small and completely impoverished country.
For this reason, authorities are particularly scrutinizing Russians. Moscow has also stationed soldiers in the pro-Russian region of Transnistria, which broke away from Moldova.
