'Sacked' bank employee kills three colleagues then shoots himself

An investigation is under way after a disgruntled senior bank employee shot dead three of his colleagues and then killed himself.

The man, who has not been named, opened fire in the Amur branch of the Central Bank, with shots heard outside shortly after 5pm on Wednesday.

At first it was reported that people were being held hostage inside the building in the border city of Blagoveshchensk, but it later transpired two women and a man had been killed.

The gunman, who then turned the weapon on himself, is said to have been one of the deputy heads of management. Police said his motive for the crime was problems at work, and there is speculation he had recently lost his job.

The dead were named as Tatyana Rakhilova, the head of the bank’s management, Svetlana Fedotova, the head of the department, and Valery Smagin, a deputy head of management.

Police cordoned off the building, with officers and other officials carrying out an investigation inside. Staff were told to stay in the premises.

One female bank employee said: 'We are not allowed to leave the building. I’ve already called home to my husband and said that I will be back late at night. They say that the man who came here was fired recently.'

With a population of about 200,000 people Blagoveshchensk sits at the border with China, opposite the Chinese city of Heihe.