European Cup Medalist Killed as Two Accounts Emerge of Makhachkala Shooting

European Cup Medalist Killed as Two Accounts Emerge of Makhachkala Shooting
A dispute among guests at the Marrakech banquet hall in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, escalated into a physical fight and shooting at about 6 p.m., according to police information reported by local media. One participant allegedly drew a weapon and fired at a 31-year-old man in the head. The victim, identified as athlete Magomed Davudov, died while being taken to hospital.

Davudov was known for competing in both judo and sambo. He won a European Cup gold medal in judo in 2016, then took bronze at the 2023 Russian Judo Cup and the Russian Sambo Championships.

The Interior Ministry of Dagestan initially announced the shooting without naming the victim. Police later identified the suspected shooter as a 23-year-old resident of Makhachkala, but authorities did not disclose his name or say whether he had been detained. The motive remained unknown.

A different version was reported by the Telegram channel Mash na sporte, which first publicized Davudov’s identity. According to that account, Davudov had been inside the banquet hall and was shot after going outside by assailants in a black Toyota Camry. The attackers reportedly fled, and police began searching for the vehicle.

The identity of the athlete was later corroborated by a source cited by the state-run news agency TASS. The available reports did not resolve the discrepancy between the police account of a fight inside the hall and the reported drive-by shooting, nor did they establish what led to the violence.