A 66-year-old man shot dead three people in a shopping district in the southern Russian city of Krymsk on Thursday before killing himself, local authorities said.
At least two of the victims were known to the assailant, the local branch of the Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes in Russia, said in a statement posted on social media.
Early indications suggested that the gunman had shot the two acquaintances "out of personal hostility", it said. The identity of the third victim, a man, was still being established.
