Russia's main security agency says shots have been fired near its headquarters in downtown Moscow and that one person has died.

The agency, the Federal Security Service but better known as the FSB, says the shooter in the Thursday incident has been "neutralized" — a term widely used to reference when an assailant is killed.

The agency, which is the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, also said two people were wounded.

Russian news agencies said President Vladimir Putin had been informed of the shooting.

The FSB said the shooting occurred at a building directly behind its headquarters on Lubyanka Square.