Yashar Aliev, the owner of the Neolit café in southeast Moscow, said 40 – 50 Chechen men entered the restaurant on the evening of February 14 and began attacking the establishment. The men were reportedly wearing masks and carrying firearms.
Aliev was not present at the time of the attack, but employees told him there were only four or five people in the café, primarily couples having dinner. No serious injuries resulted from the attack and the conflict that followed. Aliev’s car, which was parked near the café, was found riddled with bullet holes. Moskovsky Komsomolets reported that one 49-year-old man, Arzu Makhmudov, sought medical help but declined to be hospitalized.
Moscow police confirmed that a conflict had taken place in Neolit but said rumors of “a fight supposedly involving 100 people that injured 10 citizens do not correspond to the facts of the matter.” The Moscow division of Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that only 20 people were involved in the incident. A police officer had to fire into the air to bring a stop to the fight. 18 people were arrested and charged with collective hooliganism.
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