3 dead as police thwart criminal gang’s attempt to flee Moscow Region Court

Photo by  Sputnik

“Three suspects have been shot dead and two others injured while trying to make their way from the lift after emergency opening of the doors,” local police spokesperson Tatiana Petrova said in a statement. She added that two police officers were injured. 

Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee, said one of the suspects tried to choke an escort officer while in the lift. “In the end, they managed to seize the escort’s weapons, but one of the officers was able to call in reinforcement from the National Guard,” she told TASS.

Earlier, the shootout at the court was confirmed to RT by Natalia Osipova, the head of the court’s press service, but she did not provide any details.

Osipova earlier told news agencies that a hearing concerning the notorious “GTA gang” was scheduled to take place at the time of the attack. The group got its name after the violent computer game, as it was accused of murdering drivers on roads near the Russian capital.

A spokesperson for the Moscow Region Health Ministry told RT that five injured were taken to a nearby hospital and were being treated for gunshot wounds. A health official told TASS the injured were three National Guard and police officers, and two suspects.

No less than 20 shots were heard, a witness, attorney Sofia Rubasskaya, told RIA Novosti.

“There was a shootout at the court, some employees were injured, a female enforcement agent was injured as well,” she said.

The Moscow Region prosecutor’s office launched an inquiry into the incident to establish whether standards of escorting high-risk suspects were met.

Later in the day, the court resumed hearings but was still limiting the access of visitors to the building.