MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. hree out the five GTA gang members who overpowered armed guards, stole their weapons and opened fire in a Moscow region court have been killed, the two others ended up wounded and were taken to hospital, Russian Investigative Committee Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko told TASS on Tuesday.

According to Petrenko, the incident reportedly took place at 13:50 Moscow time when two armed guard were transferring the five handcuffed defendants in an elevator.

"One of the five attacked a guard and began to choke him. In the melee, the defendants managed to break free and stole the officer’s weapons. Meanwhile, the second guard managed to call for backup. When the elevator reached the third floor, Russian National Guard officers were already there and waiting. In an ensuing shootout, one of the National Guard officers was wounded in the shoulder, three of the defendants were killed and the other two were seriously injured and taken to the hospital," she said.

The national guardsmen suffered bodily injuries, one of them was taken to hospital.
According to lawyer Sofia Rubasskaya, a woman bailiff and armed guard reportedly suffered bullet wounds as a result of the attack. Rubasskaya was in the building at the time of the incident.

"We were at a different session when heard shots fired. More than 20 shots were made. We began to be evacuated. I saw a wounded woman bailiff, her face in blood. Later somebody said that an armed guard had been injured," she said.

According to a spokesman for the Moscow region’s Ministry of Health, five people, including two with gunshot wounds were taken to hospital following the incident.

"Five people were taken to hospital. Three of them are police and National Guard officers. They are in serious conditions. Two are member of the so-called GTA Gang. They have gunshot wounds of medium degree of gravity," the spokesman said.

Tatiana Petrova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Interior Ministry’s Moscow department, told TASS among those wounded were a Russian National Guard officer and two policemen.

According to the court’s spokeswoman Natalia Osipova, by now, the court has resumed its work. "No one from among the court employees has been hurt," Osipova added.

The GTA Gang case

The members of the GTA Gang, which took its name after a computer game, are charged with murders of car drivers in Moscow, the Moscow and neighboring Kaluga regions in 2012-2014. Charges are brought against nine people who are accused of murdering 17 people and two attempted murders, as well as of banditry, plunder, illegal production and possession of weapons, and documents stealing.