Second suspect in attack on security forces in Nalchik taken into custody

A teenager has been arrested, whom security forces believe to be the second participant in the attack on a traffic police unit in Nalchik in July of this year.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, the attack on the police officers took place on July 4 at the corner of Nogmova Street and Lenin Avenue in Nalchik. There, a traffic police unit stopped a taxi that had run a red light. A young man jumped out of the car with a knife in his hand and attacked one of the officers. Sources reported that one attacker was shot dead, and the second managed to escape. The head of Kabardino-Balkaria Kazbek Kokov confirmed that the attacker was killed, but did not say anything about the second.

A criminal case has been opened against a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria born in 2008 under Part 1 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (assistance to terrorist activity), Part 1 of Article 30, paragraph "a" of Part 2 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (preparation for a terrorist act committed by an organized group of persons), Part 3 of Article 30, paragraphs "a", "b" of Part 4 of Article 226 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (attempted theft of weapons), the regional department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported today on its website.

According to investigators, in 2024, another resident of the republic organized a "separate unit" of an international terrorist organization and was looking for accomplices "from among the residents of the Urvansky District." The teenager, "having agreed to persuasion and conviction," became a member of a terrorist organization.

They planned to seize a police officer's weapon

"On July 4, 2025, the organizer of the group and the suspect, acting by prior agreement, committed an attempt on the life of a traffic police inspector at the intersection of Lenin and Nogmov streets in the city of Nalchik, during which they planned to seize a police officer's weapon. During the attack, its organizer was eliminated, and the minor suspect tried to escape from the scene of the crime, but was detained," the publication says.

The suspect was remanded in custody, the department noted.

Recall that the attack on security forces in Nalchik became athe first armed incident in Kabardino-Balkaria in almost 15 months. The previous incident occurred in April 2024.

After the incident, the heads of Kabardino-Balkaria's districts reported on meetings, calling on imams and heads of settlements to counter the spread of radical ideologies. The Mufti of the republic called the attack a "malicious provocation" against Islam.

The circumstances of the attack on security forces in Nalchik remain unclear, but the mere presence of residents of the republic who are ready to use weapons does not indicate a rise in radical sentiments in Kabardino-Balkaria, analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" indicated.