Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A young service member of the Engineering and Construction Battalion of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS) in Nukus attacked five people with a knife, according to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan.

According to official data, on 3 January, at 3:30 AM, a 19-year-old private, in a state of alcohol intoxication, had an argument and physical altercation with a fellow soldier before leaving the unit without permission. Entering an unlocked house, he took a kitchen knife and a cleaver and attacked four sleeping residents: three men aged 64, 28, and 37, and a 24-year-old woman. The 28-year-old man succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

Investigators reported that the woman woke up when the attacker grabbed her chest. She screamed, waking her husband, who was attacked first. The assailant then injured a pensioner and his son.

The suspect later attacked a 68-year-old man near another house. The pensioner managed to notify his son, who tried to detain the attacker but was also injured.

A criminal case has been initiated under Part 1 of Article 97 (intentional murder) and items "a, l" of Part 2 of Article 97 through Article 25 (attempted murder of two or more individuals with hooligan motives) of the Criminal Code. The suspect has been detained.

All victims have been hospitalized. The initial investigation was conducted by the military prosecutor’s office of Nukus, but the case has since been transferred to the military prosecutor’s office of Uzbekistan.