Two members of Russia’s National Guard are being investigated for negligence following a fatal attack on powerlifting champion Andrei Drachyov on Sunday.
The officers were called to the scene of a fight on Aug. 20 by a security guard at a mall in central Khabarovsk in Russia’s Far East, the Investigative Committee said Thursday in an online statement.
They then failed to intervene as the fight escalated, with one attacker kicking his victim in the head multiple times, the report said. The officers left the scene without taking any action.
“Their failure to act allowed the young person to continue his aggressive action towards the victim. As a result there was another fight, after which the victim died,” the statement says.
The statement did not identify the victim, but the name of the attacker and an attached picture coincided with earlier reports identifying him as European powerlifting champion Andrei Drachyov.
Footage of the incident circulating social media shows Drachyov going down after being violently kicked and punched in the head by his attacker while onlookers stand by.
A case has been opened against the National Guard officers on negligence charges, the Investigative Committee said.