TBILISI: A former serviceman opened fire in a Georgian town on Thursday night, killing five people before turning the weapon on himself.

The shooting took place in Sagarejo, a town of some 10,000 people around 50 kilometres east of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital.

The interior ministry said the gunman opened fire from the balcony of an apartment block, killing four people in the building’s courtyard and a police officer, who was called to the scene.

Another five people were wounded.

The ministry said the gunman killed himself when police reinforcements arrived.

Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri told local media the shooter was an ex-soldier who served between 2006 and 2021, including in Afghanistan. He was aged 48.

Police found the shooter “lying on a bed with a firearm near him” and a wound to his head, Gomelauri was quoted as saying by a TV channel.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2023