On 17 August 2016, two armed men with axes and firearms attacked the traffic police station on Shchelkovskoye highway near

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. Both the attackers were shot dead by police.

Attack

The attack took place on Wednesday afternoon in Balashikha on the Shchelkovskoye highway, 20km (12 miles) east of Moscow. The attack on the police station was carried out by two men armed with

guns A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, ...

and

axes Axes, plural of '' axe'' and of '' axis'', may refer to * ''Axes'' (album), a 2005 rock album by the British band Electrelane * a possibly still empty plot (graphics) See also * Axess (disambiguation) *Axxess (disambiguation) Axxess may refer to ...

. They seriously injured the

policeman A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

Mikhail Balakin, who was on duty in the street near the post, and opened fire on the police station building from his service weapon. By answering fire, the third inspector of the station, lieutenant Valery Pankov, managed to neutralize the attackers and called for reinforcements.

Victims

Two policemen were injured. One of them, Mikhail Balakin, died in the hospital later two weeks after the attack.

Attackers

According to the Interfax news agency, attackers were natives of Chechnya. They were not previously known to authorities. Both the attackers were shot dead by police, one died instantly, while the other later succumbed to his injuries. The attackers did not have accomplices.

Reaction

A criminal case was initiated in the Investigative Committee of Russia on the grounds of the crime provided for in Article 317 of the

Criminal Code of the Russian Federation The Russian Criminal Code (russian: Уголовный кодекс Российской Федерации, frequently abbreviated УК РФ) is the prime source of the Law of the Russian Federation concerning criminal offences. The 1996 Crim ...

(encroachment on the lives of law enforcement officers). The official representative of the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

stated that the police officers who neutralized attackers will be presented to the state award.

Islamic State of Iraq and Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

released a statement claiming that the attackers were "fighters from the Islamic State" and calling it revenge for Russia's aerial bombing campaign in Syria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shchelkovo Highway 2016 crimes in Russia 2016 murders in Europe Attacks on police stations in the 2010s Islamic terrorism in Russia Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016 Stabbing attacks in 2016 History of Moscow Oblast August 2016 crimes in Europe Axe attacks Terrorist incidents in Russia in 2016 Attacks on police stations in Europe Attacks on government buildings and structures in Russia