1 killed in shooting at Moscow factory

Moscow, Dec 27 (IANS) The former owner of a confectionery factory in Moscow shot dead a security guard and injured three people on Wednesday, Russian investigators said.

"The former owner of the factory started a verbal conflict with the current management of the factory. After that, he took out a weapon and shot several times at a guard, who died from injuries," the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement.

Initial reports suggested that the gunman had taken hostages, but the police later denied it. He is still at large and police are searching for him in the city, Sputnik news agency reported.

The Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case.

The gunman was not found on the sweet factory's premises during the search, and consequently the search area has been extended to cover the whole city, police said.

It emerged that the shooter had left the site by the time law enforcement sealed off and entered the factory, officials said. He fled without his Saiga semi-automatic rifle, with which the victim had been shot.

Local media reports earlier said that the suspect, Ilya Averyanov, took hostages in the factory building.

Business FM Radio said it managed to reach Averyanov on the phone and published a transcript, in which he said he was a victim of an illegal seizure of his property.

Averyanov claimed there had been an attempted attack on him in the morning, and that "a gang" which comprised "two prosecutors" deprived him of his business.