Law Enforcement Inspects Crossroads Stores After Shopper's Death

On January 23, police and other law enforcement agencies continued total inspections of Crossroads stores, owned by X5 Retail Group, in various shopping centers in St. Petersburg. The supermarket in the Baltic shopping center near the Gorny Institut metro station was closed, with police officers working on site.

The inspections affected not only this location. Law enforcement also visited network stores located in the Akadem-Park, Rodeo Drive, Pyat Ozyor, Port Nakhodka shopping centers, and in City Mall itself.

The reason for the large-scale actions was the death of 24-year-old Dmitry on January 21 in the shopping and entertainment complex on Kolomyazhsky Prospect. Crossroads guards suspected that the young man had not paid for goods and blocked his path to the exit. The conflict escalated into a physical confrontation: surveillance cameras recorded two security guards pinning the man to the floor, preventing him from getting up.

According to the investigation, Dmitry used an aerosol device. The security company Petersburg-Bezopasnost reported that, according to preliminary information, he fired at least four shots from a pistol. Soon after, the man pinned to the floor lost consciousness. He was taken to the hospital in a state of clinical death, but doctors were unable to save him.

The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case for causing death by negligence. A cleaning employee and two guards were called in for questioning, while a third guard fled the scene through a back exit.

By the evening of January 22, police also conducted an unscheduled inspection at one of X5 Retail Group«s logistics facilities. As a result, several dozen foreign citizens were detained and taken to departments.