Police officer kills senior colleague, injures another before committing suicide

A police officer has shot dead a senior colleague and injured another before killing himself on Saturday in Russia’s Siberian Republic of Tuva. The head of the republic’s Interior Ministry has been relieved of his post.

Senior Police Lieutenant Ayap Pavlov, serving in the local Economic Crime Department didn’t show up for a briefing. Two road police officers went to search for him, and soon afterwards found Pavlov’s car with Senior Lieutenant Pavlov allegedly drunk.

The two traffic police officers got him into their car and were on the way to the clinic to sober Pavlov up, when he opened fire, killing a senior road police officer and injuring the junior one who was driving. Pavlov then fatally shot himself.

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev has requested the head of the Republic’s Interior Ministry, Major General Viktor Lesnik to be dismissed from his post.