Russian gang members killed in botched escape

MOSCOW — In a desperate attempt to escape, five defendants charged with multiple murders wrested weapons from their escorts Tuesday at a Moscow courthouse, sparking a shootout with other guards in the building’s corridors.

Three of the assailants were killed and the two others were wounded and recaptured, officials said. Russia’s Investigative Committee said the attempted getaway began while the five handcuffed men were being escorted by two guards — one male, one female — in an elevator at the Moscow Regional Court.

The defendants attacked the escorts and disarmed them, but one of the guards managed to push an alarm button.

The court’s spokesperson, Natalya Osipova, said the assailants took the two guards hostage but were quickly engaged by the courthouse’s security.

Three of the defendants were killed and the other two were wounded in the ensuing shootout with the court’s guards. A guard wounded in the gun battle was rushed to a hospital, and the two guards assaulted in the elevator were also hospitalized with injuries, the committee said.

The defendants, all from ex-Soviet Central Asia, were accused of killing 17 motorists near Moscow in a series of attacks in 2012-2014.

Russia media dubbed the accused “the Grand Theft Auto gang” after the violent video game. Prosecutors said the gang numbered 14 men who were placing spikes on roads, forcing the motorists out of their vehicles and shooting them dead.