MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The police found a large amount of weapons and ammunition in the cottage house of a man who opened fire on security forces during his detention in the community of Veshki in the Moscow Region, a source in law-enforcement agencies told TASS on Wednesday.
The shooter identified as Vladimir Bardanov barricaded himself in his cottage house and put up armed resistance to police on Tuesday. His burnt body was found in the cottage several hours later after the house caught fire.
"In one of the house’s premises, the security forces found boxes with cartridges, magazines for PPSh and SVD firearms, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, F-1 and RGD-5 grenades and arms that included revolvers and Makarov pistols," the source said.
The version that Bardanov was an underground gunmaker is finding its confirmation, he added. "All the seized items will be sent for an expert study."
At about 11:00 on Tuesday, police came to the man’s house with a warrant for a search in an illegal firearms trade case. In response, the man engaged in a shootout with the security forces and threw about 20 grenades at them, refusing to surrender and rejecting negotiations.
During a special operation that lasted over nine hours, one of the operatives of Russia’s National Guard was wounded. A fire subsequently broke out in the shooter’s house. However, the armed man refused to leave it and stayed in the burning house. The police later found his burnt body.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into an attempt on the life of law enforcers (article 317 of Russia’s Criminal Code). The shooter could have faced punishment as severe as life imprisonment under this article and up to eight years behind bars on count of illegal drug trade, if it was proven that he acted as part of a group.
Another source told TASS that bailiffs had put him on the wanted list for tax arrears of 150,000 rubles (about $1,985). The shooter had a criminal record.