YEREVAN, (RUSSIAN) – A Russian soldier suspected of killing a family of six in Armenia was arrested
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and handed over to his military base, the South Caucasus country’s authorities said on Tuesday.
Valery Permyak is suspected of shooting six members of an extended family with his Kalashnikov rifle [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]after deserting his army unit in the city of Gyumri.
Police in Yerevan said that the victims included a two-year-old girl and a six-month-old baby who was [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]treated in hospital for severe gunshot wounds.
The rank-and-file soldier was arrested by Russian border guards on Tuesday near the Armenian-[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]Turkish border and handed to his unit for questioning.
He told investigators that he went to the family’s house to ask for some water and carried out the [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]shooting after nobody opened the door to him.
Local media reports suggested that the 18-year-old soldier had suffered from psychological problems.
The Armenian-Turkish frontier is being patrolled by Russian border guards under a treaty that dates back to 1992.
Armenia and Russia are close political and military allies and a sizable Russian garrison has been stationed in Gyumri since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Armenian Defence Minister, Seyran Ohanyan discussed the incident with Russian first Deputy Defence Minister, Arkady Bakhin
Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s office said later that both countries had agreed that the suspect would not be handed over to Armenian law enforcement authorities. (dpa/NAN)
