Sagarejo shooting

Last updated

Sagarejo shooting
Location Sagarejo, Kakheti, Georgia
Date20 January 2023;17 months ago (2023-01-20)
Attack type
Mass murder, mass shooting, murder–suicide
Weapons Automatic firearm
Deaths6 (including the perpetrator)
Injured5
PerpetratorNodar Atuashvili
MotiveUnknown

On 20 January 2023, a mass shooting occurred in Sagarejo, Kakheti, Georgia. A man opened fire from his apartment balcony with an automatic weapon, killing four people and severely wounding five others. He then shot and killed a responding police officer before fatally shooting himself.

Contents

The perpetrator was subsequently identified as 49-year-old military veteran Nodar Atuashvili. A motive for the shooting has not been established and is under investigation.

Shooting

In the early morning hours of 20 January 2023, a man opened fire with an automatic weapon from his apartment balcony in Sagarejo, Kakheti, Georgia, killing four people and severely wounding five others. A police officer responding to the scene, Chief Lieutenant Otar Gvinashvili, was also fatally shot. The shooting ended with the perpetrator fatally shooting himself in the head. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Perpetrator

The perpetrator was identified as 49-year-old Nodar Atuashvili (1974 – 20 January 2023), a former member of the armed forces who had served from 2006 to 2021, [2] [3] which included service in Afghanistan. [4]

Aftermath and investigation

A statement from Georgia's Minister of Internal Affairs, Vakhtang Gomelauri, on 20 January announced that the shooting, which had occurred overnight, involved the perpetrator fatally shooting five people, including a police officer, and wounding five others before fatally shooting himself with a firearm shortly after the arrival of additional police teams and a special unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. [2] [4] The statement also disclosed that the suspect was born in 1974, but did not provide any additional details about their identity. [1]

It was also determined that the perpetrator had been inside the building with his adult son, who fled when the shooting began.

A motive for the shooting has yet to be established, though it is under investigation. [3]

Reactions

Several Georgian politicians expressed condolences to the families and relatives of the shooting victims. Irakli Garibashvili, the prime minister of Georgia, stated: "I am deeply saddened by the tragedy in Sagarejo that claimed the lives of one police officer and four civilians. My sincere condolences go out to the family members, relatives, the colleagues of the hero police officer and the entire Ministry of Internal Affairs. I wish the wounded a speedy recovery."

Salome Zourabichvili, the president of Georgia, mourned the loss of a police officer "performing his professioanl duties". Likewise, Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the Georgian Dream party, honored the "courageously deceased police officer".

Shalva Papuashvili, the speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, stated that the shooting killed "innocent people and a hero police officer that is hard to conceive", while Kakha Kaladze, the mayor of Tbilisi, stated that he was "struck by the tragedy". [5]

In response to the shooting, the U.S. Embassy wrote: "The U.S. Embassy mourns the tragic deaths in the recent shooting that took place in Sagarejo. On behalf of the government and people of the United States, we express our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured." [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 Boynton, Sean (7 July 2023) [19 January 2023]. "6 dead, including police officer and suspect, after shooting in Georgia". Global News . Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Six Killed, Including Shooter, In Shooting Spree In Georgia". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Five Killed in Sagarejo Shooting". Civil Georgia . 20 January 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "Former soldier kills 5, including police officer, in ex-Soviet Georgia". Tbilisi, Georgia: Reuters. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  5. "Gov't Members Extend Condolences to Sagarejo Shooting Victims". Georgia Today . 20 January 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  6. U.S. Embassy Tbilsi (20 January 2023). "Condolences on Recent Deaths in Sagarejo". U.S. Embassy in Georgia. Retrieved 8 July 2024.