MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. An unidentified individual shot a participant of the special military operation, who had returned home just a week ago, at point-blank range in the Moscow Region, law enforcement agencies told TASS.

"The victim was the deputy chief of one of the military units. He returned home just a week ago," the agency source stated.

Meanwhile, the press service of the Moscow Region Investigative Committee announced that a criminal case has been initiated for murder and illegal arms trafficking in connection with the incident.

Investigators stated that around 9:00 a.m. Moscow time (6:00 a.m. GMT) on October 16, an unidentified person in a vehicle on a dirt road in the village of Melenki, the Moscow Region’s Solnechnogorsk District, fired at least three shots into the driver’s side window of a car driven by a local resident. The man was killed, and his car continued moving until it crashed into a house fence. "A team of the most experienced investigators and forensic experts is currently at the scene. An examination, including an inspection of the victim's car, is underway. Eyewitnesses are being questioned, and possible motives for the crime are being investigated," the press service added.