The attack began when two soldiers, who were natives of a CIS country, opened fire on personnel of the unit.

According to Readovka the soldiers who were killed, mostly volunteers preparing to be sent to Ukraine, were going through a fire training session when the shooting happened.

[4] According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, "the attack occurred during a fire training session with volunteers preparing for a special operation.

The shooter's brother told RFE/RL that his sibling was an "ordinary migrant" who immigrated to Moscow from Southern Tajikistan several months before.

The Tajikistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they were investigating reports that their citizens were involved in the attack.