St. Petersburg police were fired on while attempting to break up a mass brawl between disgruntled bus drivers, news site Fontanka.ru reported Thursday.
Having been tipped off to a looming showdown at the station, police from the city's anti-extremism department arrived at the scene before the fight broke out. But they were taken by surprise when nearly 40 men arrived to take part in the confrontation, the report said.
In the ensuing melee, four police officers attempted to detain members of the group, who responded by firing off warning shots at the policemen's feet, according to Fontanka.ru.
City police confirmed in an official statement that one police officer sustained a leg injury in the tussle.
Eight men were detained in connection with the incident. All of them face charges for assaulting a police officer, and one faces the more serious charge of firing at a police officer, according to the statement.
The cause of the conflict was not immediately clear, but was likely connected to a business dispute between rival bus drivers, Fontanka.ru reported.
The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon at a bus station near the city's Avtovo metro station, according to the report.
