NOVOSIBIRSK, February 23 (RIA Novosti) – Sometimes it is best to just stick them up: This is the lesson that a suspected thief in western Siberia may have drawn after hitting himself with a bullet he intended for a policeman in the process of arresting him.
The unnamed man was part of an alleged criminal duo that made a living by renting private apartments and robbing them, Novosibirsk Region police said on Saturday.
The criminals picked the dwellings clean of furniture and any other valuables, including, in one case, a bathtub.
But one of them was eventually apprehended by police and led officers to his partner’s apartment in Novosibirsk, the report said, without providing a date.
The other suspect, however, was not to be taken easily and hid in a narrow compartment he fashioned behind the linen cupboard – where he was nevertheless located by police.
The man then began firing an air revolver at the officer, but his two shots missed, and the second bullet ricocheted and hit the attacker in the head. At this point he threw down the weapon and allowed himself to be detained.
The shooters is hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and is pending a police questioning that could lead to formal charges, the report said.
