The murder occurred on November 19, 2009, in the church itself, when an assailant wearing a mask fired four shots at Sysoev and the choir director Vladimir Strelibitsky. Sysoev died on the way to the hospital from his injuries.
On December 1, 2009, in Makhachkala (Dagestan), the suspect was eliminated, who offered armed resistance when his vehicle was stopped by traffic police and was killed on the spot. During a search, a passport in the name of Beksultan Karibekov, born in 1987, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, was found, as well as a modified pneumatic pistol converted to fire 9 mm live ammunition. The investigation claims that it was from this weapon that the priest was shot.
The organization "Information and Analytical Department of the Armed Forces Headquarters of the Ingushetia Vilayat of the Caucasus Emirate" claimed responsibility for the murder, stating that it was committed by one of their members for "defaming Islam."
The priest's daughter expresses dissatisfaction with the fact that the investigation was conducted in violation of criminal procedural legislation. In this regard, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, instructed the head of the Main Investigative Department for Moscow, Belyaev, to provide a report on the results of the investigation, as well as on the procedural decisions made and the conclusions outlined in the publication. This instruction will be under the control of the central office of the agency.
