A local official in the Siberian region of Altai was shot and killed in broad daylight, law enforcement authorities said Tuesday.
“The head of the Zavyalovsky District was fatally shot while leaving a cafe in the village of Zavyalovo,” the regional branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee said, without identifying the official by name.
A local resident was arrested on suspicion of murder, police investigators said, adding that they are working to establish a motive.
While police did not provide the name of the official, the Zavyalovsky District has been led by Nikolai Onishchenko since October 2022. Before that, he served as the district’s police chief for five years.
The Telegram news channel Baza, which has purported links to Russian law enforcement, claimed that the gunman was Onishchenko’s former employee Anatoly Fenin.
Another Telegram channel that specializes in Altai region crime news reported that authorities were unable to question Fenin because he was hospitalized in critical condition.
The channel later cited the regional Investigative Committee as saying that Fenin may have been motivated by his dismissal as head of a medical and wellness facility.
The Moscow Times could not independently verify that report.
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