Unknown assailants lethally wounded a traffic police officer in Khasavyurt, a city in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, a local police spokesman said on Saturday, RIA Novosti reported.
"Around 6:20 p.m. Moscow time on Friday [14:20 GMT] unknown suspects opened fire on a car with a traffic police officer inside. The police lieutenant died later in a hospital as he sustained multiple gun wounds," the spokesman said.
Police launched a special operation in the city to find and detain the assailants.
Terrorist attacks and shootouts with police are common in Russia's troubled North Caucasus republics, especially in Dagestan and neighboring Chechnya and Ingushetia.
The Kremlin has vowed to clamp down on militant groups while stepping up efforts to boost the local economy.