Police cars and an ambulance stop outside the building of the confectionery factory "Menshevik", where a gunman earlier opened a fire, in Moscow, Russia on December 27, 2017. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang)

MOSCOW, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- A security guard at a confectionery factory was shot dead on Wednesday in clashes between the former owner and the current management, the Russian Investigative Committee said.

"The former owner of the factory started a verbal conflict with the current management of the factory. After that, he took out a weapon and shot several times at a guard, who died from injuries," it said in a statement.

The Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case, it said.

"Police officers are taking all necessary measures to detain a man suspected of causing a gunshot wound, which caused the death of the victim," the Moscow division of the Interior Ministry said in a separate statement.

Local media reported that the suspect, Ilya Averyanov, took hostages in the factory building.

Business FM Radio said it managed to reach Averyanov on the phone and published a transcript, in which Averyanov said he was a victim of an illegal seizure of his property.

He said he was holding two local deputy prosecutors as hostages and intended "to fight to the end."