15 December 2010, 20:00
Interethnic enmity is one of the versions of the mass brawl in Astrakhan
Yesterday, on December 14, accusations were presented to a participant of the mass brawl that burst our in the city centre. According to some detainees, national intolerance was the cause of the incident.
The mass fight took place on December 6, but law-enforcement bodies made the data public only on December 15. At about nine o'clock in the evening, a conflict with participation of eight or nine persons burst out near the Astrakhan Kremlin.
One of the young men opened fire from a traumatic pistol. One of his opponents was wounded in his leg, another one - in the groin. When a militia patrol car appeared, the victims addressed the militia for help. The shooter and his friends tried to escape, but two of them were caught immediately, two or three others managed to escape.
"The parties give different interpretations of the incident. The victims say that they noticed, near traffic lights, a group of guys who were shouting loudly and waving their hands. They deciding that they needed help, come closer, but were immediately poured with insults. The detainees assert that they themselves became victims of an attack. Allegedly, some people got out of the car and attacked them, mocking at their Caucasian appearance and shouting nationalistic insults," the RIA "Novosti" quotes Amida Nurbaeva, senior investigator of the city UVD (Interior department).
Currently, the young gunman is arrested; he saw charged under the article of "inflicting grave harm to one's health". The accused admitted his guilt, but argued that he shot for self-defence.
