Driver hits police officer and opens fire on others in Daghestan

A driver in Daghestani Derbent has run down a police officer and opened fire on others before being fatally shot.

Russian authorities have named 21-year-old Amir Mammadov as the perpetrator of the incident.

According to the press service of Daghestan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, at approximately 21:00 Moscow time, police officers and members of the National Guard (Rosgvardiya) were carrying out preventive operations aimed at curbing ‘serious and especially serious crimes’ in and around Makhachkalinskaya street in Derbent.

The police officers attempted to stop a Toyota Land Cruiser 200, but the driver ignored multiple demands to stop, attempted to flee the scene, deliberately hit a police officer with his car, and then opened fire on the officers. In response, the police fatally shot the driver. A pistol was later discovered in the vehicle.

The injured police officer was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery. His condition is currently stable and not life-threatening.

The Investigative Directorate of the regional Investigative Committee is investigating the incident as an attempt on the lives of law enforcement officers. The head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, is reportedly personally overseeing the investigation.

According to the Atypical Makhachkala (Netipichnaya Makhachkala) Telegram channel, eyewitnesses claimed the attacker’s vehicle may have been armoured, although there has been no official confirmation of these reports.

Incidents involving the use of firearms against law enforcement officers occur with some regularity in Daghestan.

In September 2023, in the village of Levashi, a shootout between two groups of local residents resulted in the death of the logistics head of the local police department. According to Daghestan’s Interior Ministry, the conflict began as a fistfight, during which one participant drew a pistol and opened fire, while another responded with automatic gunfire. Two people died in the incident, including the police officer, and several others were injured.

In February 2021, in Makhachkala, two unidentified individuals opened fire on police officers during a routine document check. One officer was wounded, and the assailant was detained.

In July 2013, on the outskirts of Makhachkala, a police patrol was ambushed. Three officers were injured, and the attackers were killed in the ensuing gunfight.

According to 2023 statistics from the Daghestan office of the Russian National Guard, there are 91,965 registered gun owners in the republic, with a total of 135,748 firearms in circulation.

Historical data from 2008 to 2017 shows that Daghestan ranked second amongst Russian regions in terms of crimes involving illegal firearm possession, surpassed only by the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in Russia’s far-east.

Four other republics of the North Caucasus also rank among the fifteen worst regions in this category. Chechnya ranked 37th out of 85, although some observers suggest this may reflect underreporting or the non-documentation of such offences within the republic.

One police officer killed, another injured in Chechen attack on traffic checkpoint

The assailant was shot dead at the scene.

OC MediaElizaveta Chukharova