UPDATES WITH OFFICIAL STATEMENT & BACKGROUND; MINOR EDITS
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - A senior Russian general was shot by an unidentified individual in the country’s capital Moscow, the country’s Investigative Committee said on Friday.
Citing its spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko, the committee said in a statement on Telegram that several shots were fired at Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev at a residential building in the Russian capital. She said the as-yet unidentified person who fired the shots then fled the scene.
Petrenko stated that a criminal case of attempted murder and illegal trafficking of firearms has been opened over the incident, which she said took place in northwestern Moscow.
"Investigators and forensic experts from the Moscow Investigative Committee are currently working at the scene, reviewing CCTV footage, and interviewing eyewitnesses," she added.
She also said authorities are working to identify the person or persons involved in the shooting.
Alekseyev has served as the first deputy head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Intelligence Directorate since 2011.