Unrest sparked by woman's murder in Russia leaves 2 injured, nearly 100 held

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Unrest erupted in Russia's Chelyabinsk region following the murder of a woman taxi driver, the Russian Investigative Committee reported on Friday.

The incident began Thursday night when the body of a 40-year-old woman taxi driver was found with stab wounds in her car in the town of Korkino, the Russian Investigative Committee reported on Friday.

Police immediately launched a murder investigation, quickly identifying and apprehending a 17-year-old suspect from the local gipsy community.

The woman was reportedly killed when some members of the gipsy community refused to pay her.

Tensions escalated when locals learned that the suspect belonged to gipsy Romani community in Korkino. They confronted the gipsy community leader and demanded that he and his people leave the area.

In response, gunfire was opened from within the Romani community, injuring two residents.

This altercation fueled public unrest, with residents damaging properties associated with the gipsy community and accusing its members of various crimes, prompting authorities to intervene.

According to local media reports, about 100 people were detained during the disturbances. Regional authorities have since arrived to mediate and facilitate a conflict resolution.

The person who fired and injured two people was eventually charged with attempted murder.

The murdered taxi driver was a single mother with two children, leaving them orphaned.