Staff ReporterAt least one person has reportedly been shot dead after an unidentified gunman opened fire on the office of the Federal Security Service, the FSB, Russia’s main intelligence agency, in the heart of Moscow.
The agency, called the Federal Security Service (FSB) and formerly known as the KGB, has reportedly said the gunman has been “neutralised” and a number of people were wounded.
It confirmed that one of its officers had died in the attack and that the lone attacker did not manage to enter the FSB’s building.
Five people have been wounded, the health ministry has told Russian state news agency Interfax. This includes two security officers.
Russian TV channel, RT TV, has reported Russian intelligence services have said the incident is “an act of terrorism”.
“The shooting began around 17:40,” one witness told Reuters. “I saw a member of the traffic police running down the road, hiding behind vehicles.”
Robert Anchipolovsky, a musician on the way to his concert in Moscow, said: “I thought it was fireworks and then I saw how police started to fall on the tarmac and crouch down.”
Armed special forces have been deployed to the scene, as five ambulances were seen leaving the area, according to Reuters.
It reported there have been fresh shots fired and police have extended the cordon surrounding the building. It is not clear if these shots are from the police, or a continued attack.
AP reports that the FSB have said the shooting occurred at a building directly behind its headquarters on Lubyanka Square.
The shooting came shortly after President Putin’s annual news conference. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he had been told of the attack.
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