The Man Who Invaded ‘Erebuni Plaza’ Previously Worked as a Guard at ‘Berkut’ Security Service

Yesterday, 32-year-old Artur Torosyan, who invaded the ‘Erebuni Plaza’ hotel armed and opened fire, previously worked as a guard at the ‘Berkut’ security service. According to his resignation letter, he left the job in October 2019. This was reported by armtimes.com.

The director of ‘Berkut’ security service, Vahagn Harutyunyan, stated in an interview with the media that he did not inquire about the reasons for Torosyan's dismissal, thinking he was a person with higher education who probably wanted to work in his field. “He had already graduated from a university and was studying at the Academy of Management, in my opinion, he probably wanted to go and work in his profession,” Harutyunyan said about his colleague of two and a half years, adding, “I didn’t have much interaction with him, but as far as I know, he behaved normally as a guard, an educated guy, so to speak. It was even surprising to me that he could do something like this.”

When asked whether any mental health issues were noticed during the two and a half years, Harutyunyan replied that not only did he not notice any, but he also knew that Torosyan had undergone a medical examination prior to being hired to qualify as a guard. “This means he passed all of it. Perhaps some issues arose later on, and I might not have seen that because our interactions weren't daily,” he added.

Speaking about where the weapon could have come from, the director of ‘Berkut’ stated that they do not have armed service. Artur Torosyan worked as a guard in ‘Berkut’ uniform and logo, but without a weapon.

For more details, visit the original source.