Attacker detained: what is known about hostage-taking in a bank in central Moscow

Police detained a man who had seized a branch of Alfa Bank in central Moscow. Currently, the suspect is under investigation, the Interior Ministry said.

According to TASS, the agency said that the attacker entered the bank’s office at 41, Zemlyanoy Val, and began to threaten to set off an explosive device. He had with him a bag of one of the food delivery aggregators. According to preliminary data, at the time of the incident, six people were in the building, five of whom managed to leave the building on their own. Police blocked traffic on Upper Syromyatnicheskaya Street from Zemlyanoy Val to Upper Susalny Lane and began negotiations with the attacker.

At the same time, several Telegram channels reported that the man was wearing a Delivery Club service suit, and behind his back was a branded aggregator backpack. Meanwhile, food delivery service Delivery Club denies the participation of its employees in the seizure of the bank's office.

“At the moment, we have not received requests from law enforcement agencies. We also do not have internal information confirming the participation of a real courier in this incident, ”RIA Novosti quoted the press service of the service.

During the special operation, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian Guard detained the attacker. The Investigative Committee confirmed that all the hostages were released, nothing threatens their life and health. When detained, the suspect did not show resistance, he behaved calmly. 

Information about the detention of the men was also confirmed in the bank itself.

“The invader is conditionally an invader, because, it seems to me, this is just an unhealthy person, he is with the law enforcement agencies,” said Alexei Giyazov, director of marketing and communications for the bank, to RIA Novosti.

The Investigative Committee on the fact of the incident opened a criminal case under Art. 206 of the Criminal Code ("Capture of a hostage").

“According to the investigation, in the afternoon of May 23, 2020, law enforcement authorities reported that they had taken hostages by an unidentified man in one of the branches of the capital's bank located on Zemlyanoy Val Street in Moscow. According to the investigation, the invader carried an object similar to an explosive device, ”the department said.

The representative of the Moscow prosecutor’s office, Lyudmila Nefedova, told TASS that the Moscow prosecutor’s office had put the criminal investigation into control.

According to the representative of the bank, the man did not present any clear requirements.

“Nothing connected,” said Alexei Giyazov.

At the same time, a TASS source said that the attacker demanded a large amount of money. Also, the agency’s source said that the detainee is in an inadequate condition, he will be sent for examination. At the scene, he said, a bottle of wine was found that the attacker drank in a jar.

Also, a number of media reported that the man broadcast what was happening in the bank through a social network, and also demanded that the singer and TV presenter Olga Buzova be brought to him.

Meanwhile, the head of the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Moscow, Vladimir Vasenin, told RIA Novosti that the police officers had identified the man. He added that the motives of the attacker are still unknown.

“The man is a resident of Russia, came from another region. We cannot yet directly answer the question, for what reasons he did it, we are now sorting this issue out, ”he explained.

Vasenin added that police officers are conducting an examination of an object held by the invader to determine whether it was a fake or a real explosive device.

In turn, a source in RIA Novosti in law enforcement said that the attacker was a resident of the Tyumen region.

“The detainee is registered in Nizhnevartovsk. Alexey Baryshnikov, born in 1986, ”he said.

Meanwhile, the Alfa-Bank’s press service reported that the management decided to reward the employees of the department in which the incident occurred.

“Alfa-Bank management decided to reward employees of the branch. The employees of Alfa-Bank’s branch acted clearly according to the instructions, which helped to avoid the situation of mass seizure of visitors and employees as hostages, ”said Alexey Giyazov.