Russian police have arrested an alleged army deserter who fired at motorists with an assault rifle in central Russia’s Kaluga region late Wednesday.
“On the Kozelsk-Optina Pustyn highway, an unidentified man in a state of aggression stopped a car and opened fire in the air and the ground,” law enforcement officials said in a statement, adding that the man was arrested early Thursday.
A dashcam video shared on social media showed the man approaching two women who had exited their car on the side of the road. He then shot into the car, after which one of the women tried to run away.
Toward the end of the video, a third woman is seen exiting from a different vehicle and pleading for the man to stop shooting, after which he leaves the scene.
One of the women was said to have received minor injuries when a bullet ricocheted from the asphalt. State-run media reported that the shooter tried to rob the motorists
The Ostoroshno Novosti Telegram news channel, citing anonymous sources, reported that the shooter was 31-year-old Andrei Dymovskikh, a former convict who deserted the front line in Ukraine.
Images of the arrest released by the Russian National Guard showed the detained shooter in military fatigues alongside an automatic weapon in the grass.
Russia has seen an uptick in violent incidents involving active or former servicemen since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, especially among those with a criminal background.