RUSSIA – Three people, including 2 traffic police officers were on early Wednesday Dec. 24, killed in a bomb explosion in Moscow, while they were trying to detain a suspicious individual.

According to a preliminary investigation, two traffic police officers noticed a suspicious person near their patrol car on Yeltskaya Street.

When they approached him for detention, an explosive device detonated, killing the two police officers as well as the suspect.

According to the Moscow State Traffic Inspectorate, the deceased are police lieutenants Ilya Klimanov, 24, and Maxim Gorbunov, 25, who joined the force in October 2023 and February 2022, respectively.

Gorbunov is survived by his wife and nine-month-old daughter.

Investigators and forensic experts initiated an investigation at the scene.