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Getaway attempt at Moscow Region’s court may leave convoy official facing charges

Two suspects from the so-called GTA gang remain hospitalized in critical condition after being wounded in a shootout they started along with three other accomplices in a Moscow Regional Court

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. The official responsible for escorting the GTA gang members back to their detention cell, may face criminal charges after Tuesday’s escape attempt, a source in the law enforcement told TASS.

"The official responsible for armed escort in the Moscow Region’s court building, where GTA gang members attacked police on Tuesday may face punishment, even a criminal charge," the source said, adding that a group of five defendants was to be escorted by ten armed guards.

Earlier, the spokesman for the Moscow Region’s police force, Tatyana Petrova, said that an internal inquiry was in progress.

On August 1, two armed guards were accompanying five defendants, accused of armed robberies, killings and violent felonies in the GTA gang case into an elevator of the Moscow Region’s court. While being escorted into the elevator, one of the defendants attacked the armed guard. Having overpowered the armed escort, one of the defendants managed to seize the guard’s firearms. In the melee, the other guard escorting those in custody managed to call for backup and a reinforcement of Russian Guardsmen was dispatched. When the elevator opened, a gunfight ensued on the third floor of the court’s building, leaving one Russian Guardsman with a shoulder wound, and three of the five attackers dead with the two others injured. The armed escorts suffered multiple bodily injuries, with one being taken to the hospital. The two suspects from the so-called GTA gang remain hospitalized in critical condition, according to a source.

Another source told TASS the defendants attacked the guards after a court session inside the Moscow Region’s court in a special elevator for defendants. They seized two Makarov handguns and 32 cartridges.