Shooting inside Estonian Defense Ministry

[Lex]

Het schijnt te gaan om een oud-militair.

[Lex]

Defense Ministry Hostage Drama Ends, No One Injured

Police at the scene of today's shooting drama at the Defense Ministry in downtown Tallinn reported at 17:20 that the perpetrator has been detained, hostages were freed and no injuries were sustained.

Estonian Public Broadcasting
Updated: 17:21

[Lex]

Fresh Shots Fired at Defense Ministry

Additional shots were fired and an explosion was heard at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense in central Tallinn. At 16:50, police and ambulance crews entered the building.

Initial shots rang out at 15:10 local time, Aleksandra Solntseva, a spokeswoman for the police's Northern Prefecture, told ERR.

"The area around the mininstry has been cordoned off, people have been evacuated and the police are clarifying the circumstances of the incident," she said in the minutes following the beginning of the drama.

A ministry spokesman said that Minister of Defense Mart Laar was not in the building at the time of the incident. He arrived later, however, and was seen speaking to police outside the cordon.

An ERR staff member on the scene said that several employees had fled the building through windows. She said that police patrolling the area were wearing flak jackets, suggesting that the shooter is still inside.

At 16:13, another ERR journalist on site reported that the last employees had been evacuated and that streets surrounding the building at Tatari 1 had been closed to traffic.

The area around the building has been cordoned off and police in flak jackets are at the scene.

A ministry spokesman said that an ambulance and bomb experts had been called to the scene.

According to one ministry official, a former Defense Forces soldier had detonated an explosive device and fired off a shot before taking a security guard hostage. He later released the guard.

The building's foyer is reported to be full of thick smoke.

Estonian Public Broadcasting,
Published: 16:34 | Updated: 17:06

[Lex]

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) -- Officials say there has been a shooting inside the Estonian Defense Ministry.

Spokesman Peeter Kuimet says that there's been an "incident involving guns" inside the ministry and that police are on the scene.

AP,
Aug 11, 15:28