A Russian MMA fighter has been arrested on suspicion of fatally stabbing a doctor with an “animal bone” in the U.S. Pacific island of Guam after a dispute over Covid-19 vaccines, Guam media have reported.
Akmal Khozhiev, who has called himself the “Unvaccinated Assassin” and shared anti-vaccine posts on social media, was born in ex-Soviet Uzbekistan and had worked at Pulkovo Airport in Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg, according to Britain’s The Sun daily.
The Guam Police Department arrested Khozhiev covered in blood at his residence on Nov. 7, according to the Guam Daily News.
The lifeless body of radiologist Dr. Miran Ribati was later found in a pool of blood near a staircase inside the same apartment complex.
A witness cited by the outlet said Khozhiev, 27, and Ribati, 44, began arguing over vaccinations during dinner after returning from the beach.
“I don’t trust you anymore,” the witness told authorities she heard Khozhiev tell Ribati.
Khozhiev began choking Ribati, then repeatedly stabbed him in the neck with an animal bone left after dinner, the outlets reported, citing documents.
Two women, identified by local media as Khozhiev’s mother and sister, had tried but failed to restrain him.
Khozhiev reportedly confessed to police of the murder.
“Sir, it’s me, it’s me, I killed him,” Khozhiev said, according to the Pacific Daily News.
A judge set a $1 million cash bail and ordered Khozhiev to remain in custody. He faces charges of first-degree felony aggravated murder with a deadly weapon and second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The gym that Khozhiev had worked at and Ribati had attended said it terminated Khozhiev's employment over threats to staff and customers, local media reported.
