Court rules to take Moscow policeman into custody on suspicion of shooting colleagues
MOSCOW. Sept 20 (Interfax) - Moscow's Presnensky District Court ruled on Friday to take policeman Alexei Smirnov into custody for two months on charges of shooting his colleagues at the Ryazansky Prospect metro station, an Interfax correspondent reported.
"The court resolves to grant the investigation's request [...] The court rules to place Smirnov into pretrial custody as a restrictive measure until November 18, 2019," Judge Sergei Artyomov said.
Smirnov has been charged with an attempt on the lives of law enforcement officials. If found guilty, he may receive up to a life sentence.
The Interior Ministry department for Moscow reported on Wednesday, September 18, that officers from the internal security division of the police department for the Moscow metro detained a patrol policeman, Alexei Smirnov, 34, on suspicion of accepting a bribe in the lobby of the Ryazansky Prospect metro station. To escape arrest, Smirnov started firing his service pistol, killing one operative, Police Sr. Lt. Maxim Veyalko, on the spot and seriously injuring another, Police Lt. Col. Alexei Limonov, who was hospitalized. The shooter was eventually detained.
Spokesperson for the Investigative Committee department for Moscow Yulia Ivanova said that, based on tentative findings, the internal security division officers intended to detain the patrolman on suspicion of accepting a bribe from an undocumented individual.