Traffic police in Moscow have killed three men after two reported attacks on officers across the capital in a single day.
Two men were killed after they opened fire a traffic police patrol office on Schyolkovskoye Shosse, north-east of the capital. the city's police force announced in a statement Wednesday. The pair were armed with with axes and pistols, and are reported to have attacked after being asked to show their documents to officers during a car stop, the Interfax news agency reported.
A further two police officers were wounded in the attack, with one reported to be in a critical condition.
Police are currently working to establish the identities of the attackers and the motives behind the attack, the statement said.
Another alleged assailant was killed in a separate incident to the west of Moscow, when three men also reportedly attacked traffic police after being asked to show their documents, the Moskva news agency reported. “An argument arose while the documents were being checked, at which point the passengers attempted to grab the police officers’ weapons” a police source told the news outlet.
“One of the men was subsequently shot dead with a second attacker wounded. The third passenger managed to grab a pistol, and wounded an officer before running into the forest,” he said, adding that an operation was now underway to apprehend the suspect.
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