The arrest of a Dagestani man for shooting at a wedding sparked controversy on Telegram.

A man arrested for shooting at a wedding in Makhachkala explained to police that he wanted to support a friend. Some Telegram users called the shooting at a wedding a tribute to tradition, while their opponents pointed out the danger of such actions.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," the tradition of shooting at weddings has persisted in Dagestan, although such shootings are considered a crime. Thus, in July 2021, security forces brought administrative charges against a car passenger for firing a deactivated pistol during a wedding in Khasavyurt.

The man who opened fire at a wedding and "his support group of five people" were taken to the Leninsky police station in Makhachkala, Gayana Gariyeva, head of the press service for the Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs, reported last night on her Telegram channel "Crime Chronicle."

She clarified that the incident occurred in a restaurant in Makhachkala. "There was gunfire, a traumatic pistol, fired into the air, just for show. Well, as usual," Gariyeva wrote, adding that police are investigating the incident.

He wanted to support a friend, but mistakenly fired twice.

The post is illustrated with a video in which a young man, answering questions from an off-camera person, says he fired two shots at a friend's wedding.

"I got carried away, wanted to support a friend, and fired two shots... The wedding was already ending, I wanted to support a friend, but mistakenly fired twice," he said.

As of 11:00 a.m. Moscow time, 166 comments have been posted under the post. Some of the authors attributed the detainee's actions to tradition. "This is a Dagestani wedding, so it's normal for them to shoot, as long as it's in the air. It's a custom," wrote Di_di, among others.

In Dagestan, a wedding without gunfire isn't a wedding.

"In Dagestan, a wedding without gunfire isn't a wedding. Why are you ruining traditions?" Kva4akh chided the security forces. "It's a big deal, he fired twice into the air," remarked Eldar Alakhverdiev.

"What's so special about that? You can't fire a traumatic weapon at a wedding? Not at people, but into the air," Gadisov.A was surprised.

"It's a wedding, leave the people alone, things aren't great as they are," wrote Aishat. "Shooting into the air during celebrations is an old Dagestani tradition," opined Ibragim Idrisov.

Other commenters considered the shooting at a wedding a dangerous act for others. "Any shooting in a public place is prohibited; they should at least know these basic things," noted R. N. N..

Punish him to the fullest extent, so that others learn a lesson!

"Fifteen days each. For some [expletive] in Dagestan, for the last 20 years, a wedding has been considered an excuse for animal behavior," wrote Abdulzhalil Adziev. "He shot at a wedding, where there were so many people, children! Punish him to the fullest extent, so that others learn a lesson! Maybe they get off with a light fright, so this happens at weddings?" - wrote another user.

"If everyone does whatever they want and turns a blind eye to it, it won't end well... Every little thing can lead to big consequences," shared a user with a nickname consisting of dots.

"They used to shoot [at] the birth of a child, and at weddings, they shot into the air, but that's all a thing of the past, now it's rare and punishable," wrote Marzhanat.

As a reminder, the tradition of shooting at weddings is also common in other republics of the North Caucasus. In January 2024, a seven-year-old girl was injured in a shooting at a wedding in the Ust-Dzhegutinsky District of Karachay-Cherkessia. A Rostov-on-Don resident detained after the incident pleaded guilty.

On August 19, 2022, in the Nogai District of Karachay-Cherkessia four people were hospitalized after such a shooting. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a 21-year-old young man fired a hunting rifle near a restaurant at a wedding. The shot ricocheted off the paving slabs, injuring people.

Shooting at Caucasian weddings is not a historical custom, although it is quite common, noted Magomedkhan Magomedkhanov, a scholar at the Institute of History, Archeology, and Ethnography of the Dagestan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in 2013. "The position that we had a tradition—we shot and will continue to shoot—is incorrect," he emphasized.

In recent years, shootings at weddings in Dagestan have become less common. This practice may disappear entirely from the republic's cities, local media editors-in-chief interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" in 2018 indicated.