The Governor of Russia’s Murmansk region was stabbed late Thursday after a meeting with residents in a local town hall.
Governor Andrei Chibis was attacked in the city of Apatity and wounded in the stomach, the Russian news agencies reported, quoting the governor’s press service.
“There was an armed attack and the governor suffered a knife wound in the stomach. The attacker has been detained,” the reports noted.
Chibis’s press service confirmed that the governor was wounded and has been hospitalized at the Apatitsko-Kirov hospital.
“The governor is currently in surgery. He is conscious and made his own way to his car. On his way to the hospital he was talking and answering questions,” the reports said, describing him as “courageous” and “cheerful.”
Meanwhile there was no information about a possible motive for the assault.
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Local media reported that the alleged attacker is a 42-year-old resident of Apatity. It said he was wounded during his arrest.
Lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said the governor, was saved by a national guardsman who fired a warning shot in the air and then grabbed the attacker, wounding him in the leg and wrenching him away.
The Kremlin said the assassination attempt, which took place after a town hall meeting on Thursday, must be investigated as fast as possible.
Chibis was appointed acting governor of the Murmansk region in March 2019 by a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin. Later that year he was elected with 60 percent of the vote on the first ballot. His term is scheduled to end in September.
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