Russian police claim to have detained a man who may have been involved in the assassination attempt on the writer
© Russia’s Investigative Committee / Telegram
Russian police have announced having arrested a man who could be connected to the bomb blast that injured prominent Russian writer and political activist Zakhar Prilepin.
In a statement, Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said that “during a hot pursuit in Nizhny Novgorod Region, police officers apprehended a man who may have been involved in blowing up the car with Zakhar Prilepin inside.” She did not provide any additional details about the suspect.
Volk said that the man “had been spotted near the village of Pionersky, according to witnesses.” The village is located some 70km from Nizhny Novgorod, the administrative center of the eponymous region and located some 400km to the east of Moscow.
The Interior Ministry said that the 30-year-old suspect, who has a prior criminal record, was arrested as police officers were implementing a dragnet. A Ren TV channel source had earlier identified the man as a local resident who recently received Russian citizenship, adding he was being interrogated by law enforcement.
The Baza Telegram channel noted, citing sources, that the police are carrying out a raid in Nizhny Novgorod to make another arrest related to the attack, describing the second suspect as a 33-year-old man who had rented an apartment on the city outskirts a day before the blast. The man is said to have drawn the police’s attention because he is registered in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region.
Earlier in the day, Russia’s Investigative Committee said that it had opened a criminal investigation into the attack and that forensic scientists had been dispatched to the scene. It also described the blast as a “terrorist act.”
According to the Interior Ministry, while Prilepin was injured, the blast killed a man that accompanied him, whom Russia media outlets had previously identified as the writer’s driver. Commenting on Prilepin’s health status, Gleb Nikitin, the governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region, said that he “suffered from minor fractures, but his life is under no threat.” The governor added that he was in the care of local medical personnel.
Nikitin described the deceased man as “Prilepin’s assistant and comrade” while expressing condolences to his family and loved ones.
Russia’s Investigative Committee also published a picture of Prilepin’s severely damaged car in the countryside. The vehicle appears to have been flipped over by the blast, with its front part completely destroyed and front wheels missing. The car is seen lying on its roof near a crater that was apparently caused by the explosion.
Other videos and pictures on social media appear to show emergency services and law enforcement officers having arrived at the scene.
