Jun 06, 2024

The son of the head of a company that is reported to have supplied Russia’s defense ministry was shot dead in broad daylight in Moscow on Thursday morning, according to local media reports.

Russian authorities said a 34-year-old man was killed near a children’s playground in the courtyard of a house on Alexei Sviridov Street in the west of Moscow, where he lived.

Graphic footage circulating on social media appears to show a gunman dressed in black chasing a fleeing man before firing several shots. The victim can be seen falling to the ground and the shooter flees. Newsweek couldn’t independently verify the authenticity of the video.

The shooter fired three shots at the victim, the first “from a short distance, the next two were control shots—at point-blank range,” police told Russian state news agency Tass.

The suspected gunman has been apprehended. He was reportedly injured by return fire during his arrest after shooting at law enforcement officers at least 15 times.

Officials initially said the attack was a contract killing, but this was later walked back by the Russian Investigative Committee, which said a possible motive could have been jealousy.

Local media, including Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti, identified the victim as Konstantin Balishansky, the son of the head of Mediasystem Group, Andrei Balishansky. The company is reported to provide multimedia equipment such as LED and LCD screens for large exhibitions and events.

Independent Russian news outlet iStories reported that the company has supplied Russia’s Defense Ministry.

Newsweek has contacted Russia’s Defense Ministry for comment by email.

Balishansky worked as a system administrator in his father’s firm and was a former professional skateboader, a source in law enforcement told Tass.

The gunman and the victim knew each other, law enforcement officials said.

Mash, a Russian Telegram channel purporting to have links to Russia’s security services, said its sources said the gunman and the victim worked together at Mediasystem Group, and that a conflict between the pair arose over a woman. Newsweek couldn’t independently verify the claims.

Russian newspaper Kommersant separately reported that when police asked the gunman why he shot Balishansky, he responded: “We’ve been sharing one girl since school.”

Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into Balishansky’s killing.

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-man-killed-shooting-moscow-1909083