 MOSCOW (Reuters) - Three people being taken to trial in a Moscow court for robbery and murder were shot dead after they grabbed side-arms from court security officers in an attempt to escape, Russian law enforcement officials said on Tuesday. Russia's Investigative Committee, the country's chief investigative body, said in a statement on Tuesday the incident took place when five handcuffed defendants tried to escape as they were escorted by two guards at the Moscow Regional Court. When the lift stopped on the third floor of the building and the doors opened, three of the defendants tried to escape but were shot dead by Russian national guard officers. The defendants are accused of being members of a group, dubbed in Russian media the Grand Theft Auto Gang after the computer game. The group, made up of people originally from ex-Soviet Central Asia, is accused of committing 17 murders, banditry and other grave crimes, the Investigative Committee said.
– It was a dramatic stunt straight out of a movie, but it ended disastrously for members of Russia's notorious Grand Theft Auto Gang. Three of them are dead and two others wounded after a failed escape attempt from a courthouse in Moscow, reports Reuters. In addition to the gang members, one law-enforcement officer was shot and two others suffered lesser injuries, though the details were still firming up. The drama began when the five handcuffed men were being escorted to their courtroom in an elevator by two guards. They managed to overpower the guards and take their weapons, but all five were subsequently shot as they attempted to escape the building. The men were among nine being held on robbery and murder charges over a spate of fatal carjackings in 2014. Authorities say they would place spikes on roads, then kill drivers who got out of their cars to investigate. More than a dozen motorists were killed in that fashion, and Russian media dubbed the assailants the Grand Theft Auto Gang after the video game, reports the AP.