Five die in Rostov region shooting during apparent family duel over farmland

Five people have been killed and two injured in a shooting that took place October 22 in Russia’s Rostov region, police officers told the wire service Interfax.

“Our preliminary information indicates that the participants in this conflict used firearms intended for hunting,” police representatives said. RIA Novosti reported that the armed skirmish broke out following a disagreement over grazing territory for the shooters’ livestock.

The investigative Telegram-based outlet Baza wrote that the conflict took place between two local farming families, the Batsievs and the Dakishvilis, after they intentionally arranged a shootout to resolve their disagreements. Two cars fled the scene, according to the outlet.

Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed that five men had been killed in the area and two were transported to a hospital. The committee is pursuing murder charges in the case. Baza and the Investigative Committee named two different villages located about six miles apart as the site of the incident, and the details of the conflict remain unconfirmed.