Said He Was Going to Make Amends… I Never Saw My Son Again. Gunfire in Gyumri

The trial of Ashot Grigoryan has concluded at the Shirak Regional Court. Ashot Grigoryan, born in 1985, was initially charged with attempted murder in a manner endangering the lives of many and intentional murder, pursuant to articles 34-104 section 2 points 1 and 6, and 104 section 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. The prosecution alleges that Ashot Grigoryan fired shots using a smooth-bore hunting rifle at brothers Knyaz and Gagik G., intending to unlawfully kill them. However, due to circumstances beyond his control, he was unable to complete the crime, resulting in the death of Knyaz and medium severity injuries to Gagik.

According to reports from 1in.am, the incident occurred on March 7, 2015, around 10:55 p.m. in front of one of the houses on Myasnikyan Street in Gyumri, during a confrontation over past disagreements with the brothers Knyaz and Gagik. Ashot allegedly brought the firearm and fired shots at the brothers, causing severe injuries to Knyaz, who died on March 11 at the Erebuni Medical Center. Gagik sustained a serious gunshot injury to his left shoulder region.

During the court proceedings, the prosecution modified the charges against Ashot, now accusing him of intentional murder endangering the lives of many, according to section 2 points 1 and 6 of article 104. Ashot did not plead guilty during the pre-trial proceedings, claiming that the charges did not correspond to reality. He stated that on the day of the incident, he and his brother were not in the Ani district of Gyumri and had no connection to the dispute that occurred there. Ashot insisted that his brother was not with him at all.

On that day, he was not home at 11 a.m. When he returned in the afternoon, he noticed that the glass in their door was broken, their child's car was damaged, and there were other broken items. He asked his family what had happened, but they said they didn’t know. He stated that he would find those responsible. His father became angry with him, even cursing and demanding that he do nothing. Ashot left the house, got into their BMW, went near the garage, and retrieved his grandfather's rifle. Since he did not know who had attacked their house, he took the gun for protection.

Later, he drove around the city. After dark, as he was returning home, he saw a crowd near their neighborhood. He stopped the car and noticed a person lying down. Recognizing his father from his jacket, he realized that the gathered individuals were those who had attacked their house. Ashot took the rifle from the back seat, exited the car, pointed the gun at the crowd, and shouted for them to stop. He turned his father around and saw that his face was damaged, even thinking his father was dead. He yelled for them to take his father home and fired at those approaching him.

Ashot recounted that seeing his father injured caused him to lose control; he felt dizzy and his legs became weak. After firing, he retreated. He was struck on the head from behind and lost consciousness, waking up in a different location. He did not remember what happened to his grandfather's rifle. It was old, and he had no idea how many bullets were loaded or how many times he fired.

After learning about the charges against him and the search warrant issued, he fled but later contacted a lawyer and voluntarily turned himself in to the police. He has health issues and is classified as disabled due to vision problems. Later, Ashot altered his story, stating that he saw several individuals beating a man lying on the ground with bats. With the car lights shining on them, he recognized that the man on the ground was his father by his clothing. He got out of the car, yelled at the attackers to stay away from his father, but they did not respond. Finding no other way, he took the hunting rifle from the back seat, loaded it with birdshot, and fired into the air. The assailants fled.

Approaching his father, he saw that he was covered in blood and thought he had died. Ashot maintained that the area was poorly lit, and he could see nothing clearly. He noticed several attackers with bats a few meters away and thought they intended to do to him what they had done to his father. To stop them, he fired into the air, but they did not halt. He was hit on the head and lost consciousness.

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