Some three dozen armed men from Russia's republic of Chechnya tried to storm an office building in northeastern Moscow, allegedly attacking security guards and opening fire at doors and windows in a clash that left some 10 people injured, the Rosbalt news agency reported over the weekend.
Eleven of the alleged assailants were detained, but had no weapons in their possession at the time they were seized, while others escaped, the report said. The detainees were charged with "administrative" violations, Rosbalt reported.
The compound on Andreyevo-Zabelinskaya Ulitsa is surrounded by a brick fence and houses an auto-repair shop and a two-story office building, Rosbalt reported. Some of the spaces have been posted as collateral for loans, and are currently the subject of court battles, the report said.
At least 30 men, armed with baseball bats, metal rods and handguns, allegedly scaled the fence during the assault on Feb. 3, attacked security guards and tried to push their way into the building, an unidentified eyewitness was quoted as saying.
Finding the doors of the building locked, the attackers allegedly opened fire at the doors and windows, the eyewitness was quoted by Rosbalt as saying.
About 10 people were injured, three of whom were hospitalized, including a man who suffered a gunshot wound to his back, the report said.
The alleged attackers were identified as natives of Chechnya, who make their living in Moscow by providing "armed support" during "disputes of business entities," Rosbalt reported, citing an unidentified police official.
The group is supposedly headed by three brothers, one of whom was detained, but then "mysteriously disappeared" from the police station, the report said.
Other alleged attackers were released the next day, having been charged with administrative offenses, the report said. Investigators were checking weapons found at the scene for fingerprints, trying to determine whether the guns belonged to attackers or security guards, and have opened criminal cases into possible illegal weapons possession and "hooliganism."
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