Three assassination attacks targeted Magomedtagirov since his appointment in 1998. He survived two of these attempts. The first two assassination attempts were in
Makhachkala, the capital city of Dagestan, in August 2007 and on 4 February 2007, respectively. He was shot dead on 5 June 2009, while attending a wedding at a restaurant in Makhachkala. Magomedtagirov was shot by a
sniper as he stepped outside the wedding to talk to his brother and a co-worker. He died almost instantly from his wounds. One of his deputies, Aburazak Abubakarov, was also killed in the incident. Two people, one of whom had been serving as lieutenant, were arrested and sentenced in June 2013 due to their involvement in the murder. They were allegedly financed by a militant group led by Ibragim Gadzhidadayev. ==See also==