An unexpected detail found in the phone of the gunman who was killed in Kyiv helped the police
Audio recordings from the mobile phone of the attacker, who was killed following the terrorist attack in Kyiv on April 18, helped law enforcement officials reconstruct the tragedy minute by minute.
As it turned out, the man had recorded the entire argument with his neighbors on a voice recorder—from the first mutual insults to the moment he opened fire.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported that the bloody incident was caused by a long-standing domestic dispute.
The shooter, who lived on the fifth floor, had been feuding with his neighbor on the floor above for a long time.
That day, a routine argument escalated into an armed attack: first, the man used a non-lethal pistol, then set his own apartment on fire and went out onto the street with a carbine.
The recording on the phone turned out to be chaotic and difficult to analyze due to the killer’s incoherent mumbling.
The diplomat explained that the audio captured the voices of several people and the moment when the neighbor sarcastically called the shooter “director,” which greatly angered the latter.
The conflict reached its climax after one of those present said, “What, is the record stuck?”—after which the shooting began.
Police suspect that the perpetrator was recording intentionally to have evidence in case of a court case over the altercation. Since he had previously been involved in a case of minor bodily injury, the man was trying to play it safe.
“He was recording this altercation so he wouldn’t be blamed later… but he lost his cool,” noted Klymenko.
The investigation paid special attention to the legality of the weapon’s possession. It turned out that the killer had officially renewed his permit for the carbine in December 2025.
To do so, he submitted a mental health certificate issued by a private medical clinic.
Klymenko announced an expansion of gun rights following the terrorist attack in Kyiv
The shooting in Kyiv was classified as a terrorist attack
