Death reported near HQ of Russian e-commerce giant (VIDEOS)

A deadly shooting took place near the entrance to the Moscow HQ of e-commerce giant Wildberries on Wednesday, according to media reports.

The disturbance at the central Romanov Dvor business center occurred shortly after midday. According to preliminary reports, a group of several dozen people started breaking windows at the property, after which gunshots were heard.

The altercation lasted for just a couple of minutes, reportedly leaving one person dead and several others injured, including a police officer. As many as 30 people have reportedly been taken into custody.

Russian law enforcement confirmed that an investigation into the incident was underway.

Wildberries was co-founded in 2004 by married couple Tatyana and Vladislav Bakalchuk, with Tatyana serving as the company’s CEO. In July, the pair confirmed that they were divorcing.

A bitter dispute reportedly arose over corporate ownership, as Wildberries intends to conduct a merger with advertising giant Russ. Mr Bakalchuk confirmed that he owned just 1% of the company, but claimed that his spouse was mismanaging the firm.

In a statement on Wednesday’s incident, Mrs Bakalchuk claimed that her estranged husband had led a group of armed people, who claimed that they wanted to negotiate, but were actually trying to force their way inside to seize the property.

“It was a raid, or rather a failed raid,” she alleged.

She also confirmed that the person killed in the incident was a security guard at Wildberries HQ, and vowed to support his family.