This is, as CNN would likely tell us, probably the work of a “white supremacist,” but there is just the off-chance that it’s a jihad attack, given that Dagestan is a Muslim area, and the killer opened fire outside a church, at a Russian folk festival. Those are targets jihadis would love.
“5 killed, including gunman, in shooting at festival in southern Russia – reports,” RT, February 18, 2018:
Four people have been killed and four others injured in a gun attack on a festival crowd in Dagestan in southern Russia, according to RIA and Interfax news agencies. The shooter was reportedly also killed.
The shooting happened in the city of Kizlyar, a provincial capital in the Republic of Dagestan, Interfax reported citing a local source. The gunman opened fire at a group of people celebrating the Russian folk festival of Maslenitsa, the source said.
An eyewitness to the shooting, Oksana, told RT it happened right in front of a Christian church. The gunman targeted people as they were leaving, but luckily many of the churchgoers managed to take cover inside the building, giving more time for the security guards to respond to the attack. She said the gunman was killed as he was attempting to flee the scene.
Security forces guarding the event opened fire on the attacker and killed him, the source said, adding that three of the four people injured in the incident were the guards. However, RIA Novosti says that the four fatalities were all civilians. They were reportedly coming back from a Sunday church service….