ISIS Claims Credit For Russian Church Shooting That Leaves 5 Dead

At least five women were killed in a shooting outside of a church in Russia Sunday. ISIS has claimed credit for the attack.

A lone gunman opened fire with a hunting rifle on a group of people after service let out of an Orthodox Russian church, according to the Guardian. Five people were killed and at least five people were injured, including two police officers. Four people were killed outside the church and one died later at the hospital.

The gunman was shot and killed, according to local reports.

The shooting took place in Russia’s Muslim-majority Dagestan region which borders Chechnya. The church service marked the start of the religious season of Lent in the Russian Orthodox Church’s calendar.

The 22-year-old gunman wasn’t identified but was local to the region. The church was located in Kizlyar, a town of about 50,000. Authorities are questioning the man’s wife about the shooting.

A priest from the church spoke to local Russian business newspaper RBK.

“We had finished the mass and were beginning to leave the church. A bearded man ran towards the church shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and killed four people,” said the man identified as Father Pavel. “He was carrying a rifle and a knife.”

Two wars for independence in Chechnya and widespread corruption have left the region destabilized. In 2015, ISIS claimed that they had set up an affiliate organization in the region and has taken responsibility for several attacks in Dagestan.