A newly elected Communist mayor was attacked by two assailants outside his home in a beating that might have been politically motivated, investigators said.
Valery Larionov, 62, mayor of the Moscow region town of Shatura, was jumped by the two men as he arrived home in his car at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Itar-Tass said.
One of the assailants was caught by the mayor and his son, who ran from the house to help his father, Itar-Tass reported.
The detained suspect is a 31-year-old resident of the Moscow region town of Yegoryevsk, the Investigative Committee said in a statement Friday. It did not identify the suspect.
The statement said a second suspect had been identified and investigators were looking for him.
The suspects face up to 10 years in prison if charged and convicted of attacking a government official.
Investigators are checking whether the attack might have been politically motivated, Gazeta.ru reported.
Larionov won almost 69 percent of the vote in a March 14 election, far ahead of United Russia candidate and incumbent Mayor Andrei Keller, who collected 26 percent.
The extent of Larionov's injuries was unclear. The Communist Party said the mayor was hospitalized with a concussion and multiple serious bruises, but Gazeta.ru reported that he had suffered only minor bruises.
The Communist Party denounced the attack as “political extremism.”