Russian Boxing Champion Opens Fire in Moscow Restaurant... "Brought Pistol from Car"

Witnesses: "They were fighting with a customer and a security guard"

A man who was a former Russian national boxing representative was detained after a shooting incident in Moscow.

On the 6th (local time), Russian media including Ura (URA.RU) reported that Nikita Ivanov (37), a former European boxing champion, was arrested by police on suspicion of firing a gun at a restaurant in Moscow the previous afternoon.

According to the investigation authorities, Ivanov is suspected of shooting at least six bullets, injuring three people. Additionally, he is reported to have assaulted another person, breaking their nasal bone.

[Image source=Pixabay]

Witnesses said, "Ivanov got into a fight with a customer at the restaurant entrance and also clashed with a security guard," adding, "He then retrieved a pistol from his car and returned to the restaurant to shoot at the security guard and others."

As a result of this incident, a total of four people?a customer, two security guards, and the restaurant manager?were injured and transported to the hospital. The investigation authorities stated that Ivanov was intoxicated at the time.

Local media explained that considering the boxer used a firearm, he could face up to seven years in prison.

The customer who was attacked by Ivanov, in an interview with the Massi Telegram channel, said, "My friends and I went outside to smoke, and he followed us. He tapped my shoulder and I told him 'Don't touch me,' but he suddenly attacked." He added, "My nose was broken, facial bones were displaced, and two fingers on my left hand were injured."

Nikita Ivanov (right).
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

This is not the first time Ivanov has been detained by police. In 2020, after finishing a competition and returning by train, he assaulted fellow athlete Bashir Mirsyabov, leaving him in critical condition and was detained. In 2021, he received administrative penalties for violating COVID-19 lockdown orders.

Meanwhile, Ivanov, who has been active as a boxer since the age of 10, has won several awards at the Russian Boxing Championships, earning a silver medal at the 2011 European Boxing Championships and a gold medal in 2013.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.