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Six people have been killed after a gunman opened fire in the streets of Kyiv before barricading himself inside a supermarket with hostages in the Ukrainian capital. At least 14 people were wounded and taken to hospital. The gunman was shot and killed by police, authorities said, on Saturday, local time. The 58-year-old attacker was not named by police, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was born in Russia, as authorities worked to piece together a motive for the shooting. The mass shooting took place in a busy central district of the city, outside an apartment block and a nearby shopping centre, leaving bodies on a crowded street as bystanders fled for safety. Armed police stood inside the supermarket where Ukrainian police killed a man who barricaded himself and several hostages. (Reuters: Valentyn Ogirenko) An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw victims' bodies in the street covered with emergency blankets before they were taken away. "The assailant has been neutralised. He had taken hostages and, tragically, killed one of them. He also murdered four people on the street. Another woman died in the hospital due to severe injuries," Mr Zelenskyy said. "It has been established that the attacker set fire to an apartment before taking to the streets with a weapon," Mr Zelenskyy said in a video posted online. "He had a prior criminal record, had lived in the Donetsk region for a long period and was born in Russia." Ukraine's special tactical police units stormed the convenience store after attempts to contact the gunman with a negotiator failed, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. A Rapid Operational Response Unit member stands by an armoured vehicle outside the supermarket. (Reuters: Valentyn Ogrenko) The hostages were supermarket customers and staff. "We tried to persuade him, knowing that there was likely a wounded person inside. We even offered to bring in tourniquets to stop the bleeding, but he did not respond," Mr Klymenko said. "Consequently, the order was given to neutralise him." The minister said the gunman had a valid weapon's permit. During the 40-minute stand-off, a female negotiator wearing body armour and standing behind an armoured vehicle used a loudspeaker to call out to the assailant, urging him: "The people are not to blame for this. Please let them go, and we will talk with you." Ukraine's security service described the killings as an act of terrorism. The shooting took place in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district, where several residents said they recognised the gunman. "I knew him by sight. He seemed like an educated, refined man. You'd never guess he was some kind of criminal," said 75-year-old Hanna Kulyk, who lived in the same apartment block as the attacker. "He didn't socialise much with people. Just a greeting and he'd be on his way," she said. "He lived alone." AP