Man kills 4 with rifle

A MAN has opened fire with a hunting rifle in a Russian village, killing four people before engaging in a protracted firefight with security forces.

Russian news agencies reported four police officers and two people were injured, in the rampage on Saturday.

The man thought to be around 50 suddenly started shooting out of the window of his house in the village of Kratovo, 20km from Moscow.

Security forces shot the man dead. Eyewitnesses said the assailant seemed on drugs or had been drinking.