Shooting at a wedding led four residents of North Ossetia to a criminal case.

Law enforcement charged four residents of North Ossetia with criminal offenses of hooliganism and dangerous driving, who, according to the investigation, opened fire near a restaurant and drifted cars as part of a wedding convoy in Vladikavkaz.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", scientist of the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Dagestan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences Magomedkhan Magomedkhanov previously noted that shooting at Caucasian weddings is a common phenomenon, however, this custom is not historical.

According to the investigation, on September 27, drivers of several cars in the wedding convoy performed dangerous maneuvers on Pozharsky Street in Vladikavkaz, creating a threat to the life and health of passengers and other road users. Criminal cases have been initiated regarding the drifting and shooting during the celebration against four residents of North Ossetia under articles on hooliganism and actions committed out of hooligan motives that threaten the safe operation of vehicles.

"On the same day, in the parking lot adjacent to the restaurant on Irystonskaya Street, participants of the celebration fired shots from weapons of an unspecified type. At the same time, one of the individuals involved in the shooting case is also a subject of the criminal case regarding drifting. All violators are under a travel ban. The weapon has been seized and sent for examination, and all vehicles have been placed in a specialized parking lot," the statement published on October 13 on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of North Ossetia said.

A video recording of the shooting and drifting at the wedding was published on October 13 by the Instagram*-public news_vladikavkaz.

The video is edited from recordings of surveillance cameras and amateur footage. At the beginning of the video, a light car sharply turns with a skid at a wide intersection. Smoke rises from under the wheels, leaving circular tire marks on the asphalt. Then the wedding convoy is shown moving along the city street. Among the cars is a red convertible, with passengers from several vehicles leaning out of windows or rising in their seats.

In other frames, cars take turns entering the intersection and perform sharp turns with skids. Nearby, regular traffic continues, including a truck. In the finale, the cars disperse, leaving smoke over the intersection. The weapon and the moment of shooting are not shown in the recording.

As of 10:35 AM Moscow time on October 14, this video in the Instagram*-public news_vladikavkaz, which has about 386 thousand followers, has gained 476 likes and 40 comments.

Participants in the discussion condemned the dangerous behavior of the wedding guests and pointed out the possible consequences of such actions. "Maybe it’s time to behave more thoughtfully at events and take responsibility for oneself and one’s actions!" wrote eva_malinovskay.

"A wedding is one day. But problems now last for years," noted dr.ir60.

"Shooting at weddings again," pointed out za.lina8690.

"Tough guys. They probably haven’t even heard of the army, thanks to their moms and dads. But they don’t show their skills there. There are more serious places. Why don’t they show their bravado there? They don’t, because it’s easy to show off with mom and dad’s money," stated emmaborisovnas.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that in North Ossetia, shooting and drifting at weddings have repeatedly led to law enforcement intervention. For example, on December 10, 2023, participants of a wedding convoy heading from Chermen to a neighboring republic drove into oncoming traffic and created emergency situations. One of them fired three shots into the air, after which the police initiated a criminal case for hooliganism.

In August 2022, in Vladikavkaz, police detained a 25-year-old wedding guest from Kabardino-Balkaria, who fired four times from a blank weapon in a restaurant and then tried to escape in a car.