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More than a thousand pro-Palestine protesters stormed a Russian airport on Sunday evening after rumours swirled that “Israeli refugees” were arriving from Tel Aviv. The group stormed into the Makhachkala airport, located in the Republic of Dagestan, and rushed onto the landing field, chanting antisemitic slogans and seeking passengers arriving on the Tel Aviv flight, Russian news agencies and social media reported. Authorities quickly closed the airport in the capital of the predominantly Muslim region and police converged on the facility. Dagestan’s ministry of health said more than 20 people were injured, with two in critical condition. It said the injured included police officers and civilians. The local leader has since blamed Ukraine - he claimed he had “reliable information” that the rumours of refugees was started by a Telegram channel outside of Russia - but has not provided any evidence. Here is everything we know about what the Russian authorities are calling a riot. 7pm: Crowds gather in the car park of the airport Tensions arose when, the previous day, a local Telegram channel with more than 64,000 followers claimed that Israeli refugees were staying at a hotel inland near the border with Chechnya. They called for demonstrations in the centre of the Makhachkala, managing to encourage only small crowds to attend. Planned demonstrations for a second day, this time at the airport, escalated after the channel posted a screenshot from a flight tracker showing a Russian plane descending across the Georgian border into Dagestan. The screenshot was posted at 6.56pm local time (3.56pm GMT). Demonstrators had already gathered outside the airport prior to this message. The Independent has reviewed the flight history of (Red Wings) RWZ4728 and can confirm that it did arrive from Tel Aviv. It arrived in Makhachkala just after 7.15pm local time. At 7.01pm, the channel wrote: “Everyone to the airport!” 8.10pm: Someone surrounded and accosted by the swelling crowd A video emerged of a crowd of men surrounding someone they suspect of being from Israel. The channel that had called for the demonstration had urged the crowds to check the passports of those leaving the airport. “Every car must be followed by our car - we must identify everyone,” it wrote. In the video, the suspected Israeli’s passport is flicked through as others film the ordeal. Images show a woman holding a sign nearby that reads: “We are against Jewish refugees.” Videos showed the group shouting: “Death to the Zionists.” 8.20pm: The crowd storms the airport Just after 8.20pm, the first videos emerged of the protesters inside the airport. They appear to have stormed the entrance to the international terminal, from where they had moved after gathering in the car park. At 8.25pm, the channel urged people to return to the car park. They wrote: “Attention! Brothers! What we have done so far is enough! Just go back to the exit and be there checking the cars! “There is no need to engage in vandalism!!! Tell everyone on the spot!” This appeared to have no effect on the crowd. Five minutes later, they could be seen attempting to kick down a fence to the side of the terminal. The channel posted this video alongside the caption: “This is unnecessary! Come back to inspect every car!” It then abruptly stops publishing footage of the incident before authorities temporarily shut it down. A group of Dagestani men are seen inside the terminal at 8.30pm, according to footage posted by another channel. Fifteen minutes later, the crowds are seen running through the airport, towards the runway. 9pm: Crowds reach the runway The first videos of the protesters on the runway emerged just after 9pm. One video, taken from the stairs up to the back entrance of a nearby plane, shows a few demonstrators running around the parked planes looking for flight RWZ4728. At the airport car park, where crowds continue to swell, riot police equipped with shields arrive and begin to circle the group. 9.10pm: Airport runway is closed Local media reports suggest the Makhachkala airport authorities closed their runway just after 9pm. 9.20pm: Crowds reach a Red Wing plane A portion of the crowds, now being labelled rioters by the local authorities, surround a flight they believe to be RWZ4728. It is unclear if it is the exact flight that left Tel Aviv earlier that day, but it is a Red Wings flight, and only one RW flight travelled from Israel to Dagestan that day. Russian media reports suggested that the flight from Tel Aviv was only connecting at Makhachkala before heading to Moscow, but the flight did not leave Dagestan, according to flight tracking information. 10pm: Rioters start fighting with police Minister of National Policy of Dagestan Enrik Muslimov arrives at the airport, according to local reports. One Russian state media outlet wrote: “Now the crowd has been pushed out of the runway, and almost everyone has been removed from the airport building.” Outside the building, footage shows rioters rocking a police vehicle. The Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Dagestan announces it has formally opened a criminal case for organising mass riots (212 Criminal Code) Video later emerges of rioters being arrested under the Red Wings plane. It is unclear when these detentions took place. 11.30pm: Crowds start throwing rocks at security officials Videos emerge of rioters throwing stones at security officials guarding the resecured fences. There are various reports of gunfire. Footage then emerges of hundreds of rioters marching along the runway. It is unclear what time this videos were taken. According to one local state media outlet, a passenger blocked at the airport reported “riot police, military, protesters, all in a heap”. According to another outlet, about 500 police officers were sent to Makhachkala airport to contain the riots. The word “pogrom”, a reference to the killing of Jewish civilians, is appearing in multiple Russian reports of the riots at Makhachkala. Midnight: Dagestan head calls for deescalation The head of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, laments the situation in Gaza facing Palestinians but calls for de-escalation in Makhachkala. A military chief from Chechnya makes a similar statement. Melikov wrote: “All Dagestanis empathise with the suffering of victims of the actions of unrighteous people and politicians and pray for peace in Palestine. “But what happened at our airport is outrageous and should receive an appropriate assessment from law enforcement agencies! And this will definitely be done!” 2am: Airport cleared, injuries sustained The local health ministry says roughly 20 people are injured, including at least two security officials. At least 60 people are detained and 150 rioters are identified as the main perpetrators. Crowds are then dispersed while local authorities remain at the airport. The response Mr Melikov, during a press conference, blamed the riots on Ukraine without providing evidence. “Attempts to destabilise the situation in Dagestan, including using prohibited methods associated with inciting ethnic hatred, are being carried out by our enemies, opponents of our country,” he said. “Today we have received absolutely reliable information that the channel ‘Morning of Dagestan’ is administered and regulated from the territory of Ukraine - by traitors, Banderaites.” Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky responded on Monday morning, pointing to Russian antisemitism. “This is not an isolated incident in Makhachkala, but rather part of Russia’s widespread culture of hatred toward other nations, which is propagated by state television, pundits, and authorities,” he said. “Russian antisemitism and hatred toward other nations are systemic and deeply rooted. Hatred is what drives aggression and terror. We must all work together to oppose hatred.” You can read a full breakdown of the response here. Read More Sunak chairs Cobra meeting as police chief says terror threat ‘accelerating’ Jewish people in UK experiencing fearful time, says minister Biden wants to move fast on AI safeguards and will sign an executive order to address his concerns Live updates | Israel deepens military assault in the northern Gaza Strip Israel expands ground assault into Gaza as fears rise over airstrikes near crowded hospitals Cornell University sends police to Jewish center after violent, antisemitic messages posted online

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The sons of a newly-identified Gilgo Beach murders victim reportedly were not notified by Long Island police before her name was revealed to the public. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney held a press conference on Friday to announce that the victim known only as Jane Doe 7 had finally been identified as Karen Vergata, more than 26 years after her partial remains were first discovered along the Long Island shores. Vergata, 34, was last seen alive in Manhattan in 1996 while working as an escort. The huge breakthrough in the case comes almost three decades after some of Vergata’s remains were first discovered – and just weeks after Rex Heuermann, a 59-year-old father-of-two architect, was arrested and charged with the murders of three other Gilgo Beach victims. Mr Tierney told reporters that Vergata had been positively identified via DNA in August 2022 but investigators kept the development under wraps due to the ongoing investigation into Mr Heuermann. Officials refused to comment on whether or not her murder may be linked to the suspected serial killer. The district attorney also attributed the delay to the need to contact Vergata’s family members. However, it has since emerged that Vergata’s two biological sons - Eric and Gary Doherty - apparently were not informed before Friday’s announcement. Eric’s girlfriend Michelle Nolan told the New York Post that he only found out after the press conference when they were contacted by the woman who adopted them as young children a few years before Vergata’s death. Ms Nolan said Eric was distraught, having believed that Vergata was only missing. Mr Tierney’s office did not return the Post’s request for comment about family notification, the outlet reported. Ms Nolan said Eric and Gary grew up with little knowledge of their biological mother after having been adopted by Edward and Diane Doherty in 1992. She explained that Vergata had been struck by a truck while she was pregnant with Gary in the late 1980s, which is thought to have led to him being born with cerebral palsy. Shortly after Eric was born in 1990, Vergata “took off”, Ms Nolan said. “She was a drug user and their father took her and helped her,” she said. Ms Nolan said the boys’ father was believed to have died from tuberculosis, but she wasn’t sure when. She said that Gary is now living in an facility for adults with special needs and has not been informed about his mother’s death. Vergata vanished without a trace around 14 February 1996 – Valentine’s Day, according to officials. She lived on West 45th St in Manhattan and is believed to have been working as an escort at the time of her disappearance. Police said that no missing persons report was filed at the time. On 20 April 1996, a woman’s legs were found wrapped in plastic at Davis Park on Fire Island’s Blue Point Beach. Almost exactly 15 years later on 11 April 2011, the woman’s skull was then found off Ocean Parkway during the search for Gilgo Beach victims. The skull was located close to the remains of another unidentified victim – Jane Doe 3, also known as Peaches. The two sets of remains in Fire Island and Ocean Parkway were later found to belong to the same person. Before now, investigators had long been unable to identify Jane Doe 7 – and the victim became known as Fire Island Jane Doe. She was described only as a white woman aged 18 to 50 years old who had several notable scars including evidence of surgery on her left ankle. She was one of 11 victims whose remains were found dumped along the shores of Gilgo Beach back in 2010 and 2011 – several of whom are also yet to be identified. Decades later, investigators were finally able to identify Fire Island Jane Doe using genetic geneaology and her surviving relatives’ DNA. In August 2022 – around six months after the new Gilgo Beach taskforce was launched – a DNA profile suitable for genealogical comparison was developed from the remains of the victim, officials said in a press conference on Friday. The next month, the FBI was able to presumptively identify the victim using genetic genealogy as Vergata. Then, that October, investigators tracked down a relative of Vergata and took a buccal swab. Using this, they were able to definitively identity the victim as Vergata. At Friday’s press conference, Mr Tierney said investigators kept that breakthrough hidden until now due to both the ongoing investigation into Mr Heuermann and the need to contact all of Vergata’s family members. “Prior to disclosing, we needed to contact all Vergata’s family members and around the same time we were beginning the grand jury confidential investigation into the murders of the victims known as the Gilgo 4,” he told reporters. ”So we decided not to make it public... until the results of that investigation became public and we had made notice to Vergata’s family.” He added: “Today we are here to announce that as part of the Gilgo taskforce’s reexamination of all evidence in the case we are able to identify Fire Island Jane Doe as Karen Vergata.” “It is important that we remember and honour not only Ms Vergata but all the vicitms on Gilgo Beach,” he added. While this marks a major breakthrough in the case, many questions still remain. In Friday’s press conference announcing her identity, Suffolk County officials refused to take any questions and would not comment on whether or not Vergata’s murder could be the linked to Mr Heuermann – who has so far been tied to four of the victims found along the Long Island shores. At this time, no one has been charged in connection to her homicide and her cause of death is unknown. DA Tierney said that while there are “no charges at this time”, that the “confidential investigation” is ongoing. He would not confirm or deny any ties to accused killer Rex Heuermann – or say if there was any potential suspects on his radar. “We are going to continue to work this particular case as we did the Gilgo Four investigation,” he said. “We’re not going to comment on what – if any suspects – we developed at this time. This is a confidential investigation so I’m not going to be taking any questions.” This major development comes as prosecutors are seeking to obtain a swab of DNA from Mr Heuermann, the man arrested and charged with the murders of three of the victims and suspected of a fourth killing. In a court filing this week, prosecutors said that the DNA sample would “provide further relevant evidence of the defendant’s identity as the perpetrator of the crime”. Prosecutors have so far obtained hundreds of hours of footage from the suspect’s home in Massapequa Park and his office in Midtown Manhattan, 2,500 pages of documents, crime scene photographs and autopsy reports in the high-profile case. The trove of evidence was turned over to Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei and Mr Heuermann’s attorney Michael Brown on Tuesday as the accused killer appeared in court for a brief preliminary hearing. Suffolk County DA Tierney said last week that a “massive amount of evidence” had been recovered from the home which Mr Heuermann grew up in as a child – and which he went on to share with his family up until his sudden arrest. No human remains were discovered, but a trove of around 270 guns were seized from the home. The DA previously revealed that they believe at least some of the murders may have taken place inside the home. Mr Heuermann’s wife and two adult children were out of town at the time of each of the three murders he is charged with, according to court records. The 59-year-old architect was taken into custody on 13 July, almost 13 years after the bodies of at least 11 victims were discovered along the shores of Gilgo Beach on Long Island. He was charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello. He is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes – who was last seen alive in early June 2007 in New York City and who, with the three other women, is known as the “Gilgo Four”. All four women worked as sex workers and disappeared after going to meet a client. They were all found in December 2010 within one-quarter mile of each other, bound by belts or tape and some wrapped in burlap – their bodies dumped along Gilgo Beach. They are among 11 victims whose remains were found along the shores of Long Island in 2010 and 2011, sparking fears of one or more serial killers. As well as looking into his connection to the murder of Brainard-Barnes and the other Gilgo Beach victims, law enforcement agencies are now also looking into unsolved murders and missing persons cases all across the country. Police in Las Vegas and South Carolina – where Mr Heuermann owns properties – and Atlantic City – where several sex workers have been found murdered – have confirmed they are eyeing the suspect in cold cases. Court records show that Mr Heuermann was linked to the “Gilgo Four” murders through a tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner phones, “sadistic” online searches, phone calls taunting victims’ families, his wife’s hair found on the victims’ bodies – and a pizza crust. The first piece of the puzzle came when a witness in the Amber Costello case revealed details about a vehicle that a client was driving when she was last seen alive. Costello, who worked as a sex worker, was seen alive on the evening of 2 September 2010 when she left her home in West Babylon. A witness said she had gone to meet a client who was driving a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche. Last year, a registration search showed that local man Mr Heuermann owned a first-generation model of the truck at the time of Costello’s disappearance. He also matched the witness’ description of the man believed to be the killer: a large, white “ogre”-like male in his mid-40s, around 6’4’ to 6’6” tall, with “dark bushy hair,” and “big oval style 1970’s type eyeglasses”. The discovery of the car led investigators to hone in on Mr Heuermann including executing 300 subpoenas, search warrants and other legal processes to obtain evidence to determine his potential involvement in the killings. Among this was Mr Heuermann’s alleged use of burner phones, with prosecutors saying that he used burner phones to contact the three women and arrange to meet them at the time when they went missing. He also allegedly took two of the victims’ cellphones – and used one to make taunting phone calls to one of their families where he boasted about her murder, court documents state. Mr Heuermann’s DNA was found on one of the victims, while his wife’s hair was found on three of the four women he is connected to. Following his arrest, his wife Asa Ellerup filed for divorce. She has since told The New York Post that she has been left filled with “anxiety” and their two children “cry themselves to sleep” over the horror. “I woke up in the middle of the night, shivering... anxiety,” she said. “My children cry themselves to sleep. I mean, they’re not children. They’re grown adults but they’re my children, and my son has developmental disabilities and he cried himself to sleep.” Mr Heuermann’s sudden arrest comes after the horrific serial killer case has captured the nation’s attention for more than a decade. The Gilgo Beach murders had long stumped law enforcement officials in Suffolk County who believed it could be the work of one or more serial killers who targeted sex workers and dumped their bodies along the remote beaches on Ocean Parkway. The case began in May 2010 when Shannan Gilbert vanished after leaving a client’s house on foot near Gilgo Beach. She called 911 for help saying she feared for her life and was never seen alive again. During a search for Gilbert in dense thicket close to the beach, police discovered the remains of another woman. Within a matter of days, the remains of three more victims were found close by. By spring 2011, the remains of a total of 10 victims had been found including eight women, a man, and a toddler. Police have long thought that it could be the work of one or more serial killers. Gilbert’s body was then found in December 2011. Her cause of death is widely contested with authorities long claiming that it is not connected to the serial killer or killers but that she died from accidental drowning as she fled from the client’s home. However, an independent autopsy commissioned by her family ruled that she died by strangulation and her mother believes she was murdered. Like Gilbert, most of the victims targeted were sex workers, while some are yet to be identified. Read More Gilgo Beach murders - live: Police identify victim Karen Vergata but won’t comment on Rex Heuermann link Gilgo Beach murders victim Jane Doe 7 identified as Karen Vergata 26 years after remains discovered More families await answers in Gilgo Beach killings – and the names of other victims How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard

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