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Karachay–Cherkessia

Two police officers killed in attack in Karachay–Cherkessia

The scene of the attack. Photo: Karachay-Cherkessia Investigative Committee.
The scene of the attack. Photo: Karachay-Cherkessia Investigative Committee.

A group of gunmen has killed two police officers and wounded another in an attack on a police unit in Karachaevsk on the night of Sunday to Monday.

The attack was reported by Russia’s Interior Ministry, which stated that a group of unknown gunmen had killed officers Murat Kalakhanov and Roman Gushchin in an attack on their patrol car. One officer, whose identity was not made public, was injured and hospitalised following the attack.

The five suspects reportedly stole the police officers’ service weapons and ammunition, and remain at large.

Five suspects have been put on the federal wanted list, after the car used by the attackers was identified. A criminal case has also been opened on charges of an attempt on the life of law enforcement officers, illegally carrying and storing weapons and ammunition, and theft of firearms and ammunition.

On Monday morning, Head of Karachay-Cherkessia Rashid Temzerov announced that law enforcement agencies were working to identify and detain those responsible for the attack. 

Baza, a Telegram channel reporting on the North Caucasus, the same day published photographs of two people it alleged were suspects in the attack. 

A day later, Karachay-Cherkessia’s Interior Ministry published names and photographs of the five suspects, including one of the two individuals identified by Baza. The suspects were men aged 27—35. The post called on people with information about their whereabouts to contact the investigative directorate.

The car in which the suspects fled was found on Wednesday, but at the time of publication the attackers remain at large. 

Read in Georgian on On.ge.

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