Armenian Mother Grabbed Rifle to Protect Her Children, Fought Back After Azerbaijani Serviceman Shot Her

An Armenian mother lost three fingers while trying to protect her children from an armed Azerbaijani serviceman who had entered their home in southern Armenia, according to her sister.

Ani Avetisyan, 39, was seriously wounded in the Oct. 1 confrontation in Shaki, a village in Armenia’s Syunik Province. Her sister, Arpi Avetisyan, said that the serviceman pointed his rifle toward the children and opened fire when their mother tried to push the weapon away with her hand.

The shooting severed three fingers on Avetisyan’s left hand and also wounded her in the thigh. She was taken first to a hospital in Sisian and later transferred to Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center in Yerevan.

Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said Friday that Avetisyan was in stable condition and her life was not in danger. Her injured children were also in satisfactory condition, she said.

Avetisyan’s sister identified the serviceman as Nasimi Musayev.

According to her account, Avetisyan’s school-age son and daughter were returning from school when they noticed that the lock on their home had been broken. They were speaking with their parents by phone at the time.

The children entered the house and found Musayev inside the living room, Arpi Avetisyan said. They shouted for their mother before Musayev took the phone from them.

Avetisyan quickly drove home from nearby Sisian. Her sister said she found Musayev pointing his rifle toward the children and reached for the weapon in an attempt to protect them.

Musayev fired, striking Avetisyan in the hand and leg.

According to her sister, Musayev then reloaded his rifle. Despite her injuries, Avetisyan grabbed a knife and fought back, stabbing him several times. Musayev struck her during the struggle, and she lost consciousness.

Her 15-year-old son then confronted the serviceman and suffered a broken wrist during the fight, the family said.

Armenian prosecutors have confirmed that both children sought medical treatment after the incident. Authorities said the child born in 2011 suffered a fractured right wrist, while the younger child, born in 2014, had a soft-tissue injury.

The family’s account gives a far more serious picture of the confrontation than an initial description from Shaki village head Ruben Manucharyan, who took part in efforts to apprehend Musayev. Manucharyan initially said that the woman had suffered a relatively minor injury near her heel.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has since confirmed key elements of what happened inside the home.

Authorities said an emergency call was received at 2:17 p.m. from a child reporting that someone had entered the family’s house and shot their mother in the leg.

Investigators determined that Musayev had entered the home on Shaki’s 6th Street and opened fire after he was discovered, according to prosecutors. He then fled.

Police found Musayev at another property on the same street and arrested him at 3:30 p.m.

Investigators initially opened criminal proceedings involving suspected serious bodily injury with a weapon, illegal firearms possession and violation of the inviolability of a home.

On Friday, prosecutors said additional proceedings had been opened over the illegal crossing of Armenia’s state border and firearms smuggling. The cases were joined into the main investigation.

The shooting has also raised questions about how an armed Azerbaijani serviceman reached a civilian community inside Armenia despite authorities knowing days earlier that he was missing and could have crossed the border.

Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office said Musayev disappeared from his military unit in the Lachin area on September 26. Armenian authorities have said Azerbaijan contacted Armenia’s National Security Service on September 29 and warned that the serviceman had left his unit under unknown circumstances and might have crossed into Armenia.

Authorities in both countries began searching for him, according to Armenia’s National Security Service.

It remains unclear when Musayev actually entered Armenia. If he crossed the border on September 26, the day Azerbaijani authorities say he disappeared, he could have been inside Armenia for several days before the shooting.

Armenian authorities have not publicly explained how Musayev crossed the border with a firearm or how he reached Shaki before being detected.

Azatutyun’s Azerbaijani Service said it was unable to obtain comment from Musayev’s parents. Azerbaijani media and Telegram channels have circulated a video showing people identifying themselves as his relatives appealing for help after his disappearance.

The relatives said they had received little information about what had happened to him and did not know whether he was alive.

“Please, Mr. President, Mr. Defense Minister, help us,” a man described in reports as Musayev’s father says in the video.

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