Azerbaijani Serviceman Crosses Armenian Border, Shoots Girl in Syunik

UPDATE: New details have emerged about the shooting in Armenia’s Syunik province involving an Azerbaijani serviceman who crossed into Armenia.

Shaki village head Ruben Manucharyan said the armed serviceman entered a home in the village and injured the woman who lived there in front of her three children.

Manucharyan said the man was armed with an automatic rifle. He said there were bloodstains at the scene but that the woman’s life was not in danger.

Local reports said the woman attempted to defend herself with a knife during the confrontation.

A separate account from a Shaki local official said the Azerbaijani serviceman had earlier entered another home while no one was there. According to the official, children later returned to the house and found the man sleeping inside before contacting their parents.

BREAKING NEWS: An Azerbaijani serviceman who crossed into Armenia has been arrested after allegedly shooting a girl in the foot in the southern Syunik province, Armenian authorities said.

The shooting was reported at 2:15 p.m. on Oct. 1 in Shaki. Armenia’s Interior Ministry said its 112 emergency center received a call reporting that an Armenian citizen had been shot.

Police units were dispatched to the area, where authorities identified the suspected gunman as an Azerbaijani serviceman and took him into custody.

The arrest came two days after Azerbaijani authorities alerted Armenia that one of their servicemen was missing.

On Sept. 29, Azerbaijan’s State Security Service notified Armenia’s National Security Service that a serviceman had left his military unit under unknown circumstances.

Officials said there was a possibility he had illegally crossed the border into Armenia.

Authorities in Armenia and Azerbaijan subsequently began search operations.

Armenian officials said details of the shooting and the serviceman’s arrest have been provided to the Azerbaijani side.

Armenia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the incident.

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