Who was Alexander Bulakhov? GoFundMe raises $41,665 as St. Jude researcher fatally shot while protecting family

St Jude researcher Alexander Bulakhov's GoFundMe campaign has raised $41,665 after the 32-year-old was fatally shot in Downtown Memphis while defending his family from thieves on Sunday, November 12, 2023.

The fundraising page created by friends and colleagues to help support the immediate needs of his family states that Alexander Bulakhov was a member of the Department of Structural Biology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

The police, who have arrested two suspects in the case, described the incident as a robbery that escalated to homicide. According to court documents cited in Commercial Appeal, on Sunday night, Bulakhov, his wife Ana, and his 2-year-old daughter Varvara were out for a walk near Tom Lee Park in downtown Memphis when a man identified as Marious Ward approached the family and began waving a gun.

Ward reportedly demanded property from Bulakhov, who complied with the demands. However, the situation escalated when Ward turned the weapon toward Bulakhov’s wife, prompting the victim to struggle with the suspect in an effort to protect his family from harm. As the duo continued to struggle, the suspect’s weapons reportedly went off, wounding Bulakhov, who was rushed to Regional One Health, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

The suspect, Marious Ward, who fled the scene after the shooting in a Toyota Camry driven by Brandy Rucker, was arrested alongside Rucker on Monday after police tracked down the vehicle in the area of Whitney Avenue and Steele Street.

Ward and Rucker, who are being held without bail, were charged with first-degree murder in Bulakhov's death. They were also charged with aggravated robbery, first-degree murder in perpetration of an aggravated robbery, criminal attempt first-degree murder, criminal attempt aggravated robbery, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.

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Alexander Bulakhov, a Russian immigrant, came to the US in 2018

Alexander Bulakhov, who was killed in a robbery while protecting his family on Sunday in downtown Memphis, was a postdoctoral research assistant with St. Jude. Per his LinkedIn, Bulakhov was a Russian immigrant who worked as a genetic engineer in Moscow until 2018 after obtaining a master's degree in chemistry and enzymology from Moscow State University in 2013.

Alexander Bulakhov came to the US in 2018 as a postdoctoral researcher at State University of New York's Downstate Health Sciences Center in Brooklyn, New York, and began working for St. Jude in July 2023.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of a valued member of the St. Jude community," St. Jude said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with Alexander’s family and we are working to support them during this difficult time."

The suspects, Ward and Rucker, will reportedly be arraigned in Shelby County Criminal Court on Wednesday.