Murder of the deputy mayor of Nikopol: police detained a suspect

Dnipropetrovsk police detained Vitaly Zhuravlev, a suspect in the murder of the deputy mayor of Nikopol.

“The attacker fired more than 20 shots at the victim and threw a grenade into the car, which led to the car catching fire and the man’s death. After committing the crime, the attacker buried the weapon in a forest plantation and hid in a rented apartment, where law enforcement officers detained him.”

On February 8, the police received a report that an unknown person had shot up a car in one of the city’s districts. At the scene of the incident, the body of a 59-year-old deputy mayor of the city of Nikopol was found in the cabin of a burnt vehicle.

Law enforcement officers began operational search activities under the procedural leadership of the prosecutor's office of the Dnepropetrovsk region, during which they established the address of the apartment where the attacker was hiding. A few days later, police detained the defendant in a rented apartment near the crime scene.

Investigators established that a 33-year-old local resident had been preparing to commit a crime for four months. That day, armed and establishing a route of movement, he waited for the deputy mayor. When the victim’s car came closer, the defendant fired more than 20 shots from an automatic weapon and threw a grenade at the car, which led to the car catching fire and the death of the official. The police established that the attacker buried the crime weapon in the forest belt. The weapon has now been seized and sent for expert examination.

Also, during the pre-trial investigation, it was established that the suspect harbored the intention of committing similar crimes against other officials of Nikopol. Now this information is being verified as part of criminal proceedings.

On February 11, investigators from the investigative department of the GUNP in the Dnepropetrovsk region informed the attacker of suspicion of premeditated murder. The court chose a measure of restraint for him in the form of detention.