New Details on the Incident in Masis: What Happened Before Entering the City Hall

The Investigative Committee of Armenia has initiated a criminal case in the Masis Investigative Department regarding an incident that took place in the city on August 19. The case pertains to characteristics of terrorism or banditry, as reported by Samshyan.

The criminal proceedings were launched following the events that unfolded at the Masis City Hall on the mentioned date. According to reports, at around 9:00 PM, a 36-year-old resident of Ararat region, Edward Margaryan, called the head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ararat Regional Police, Hrach Miroyan, requesting a meeting. The meeting was set to take place at the 1st km of the Masis-Ayntap-Nubarashen road.

During this meeting, Margaryan, who arrived in a Kia vehicle, fired a gun into the air and fled the scene. Approximately 40-50 minutes later, he entered the office of David Hambardzumyan, the head of the consolidated Masis community, and verbally assaulted the guard. He then proceeded to the fourth floor, where he fired shots twice and threw a grenade.

Law enforcement officers from the police, National Security Service, Investigative Committee of Armenia, and Emergency Situations Ministry quickly surrounded the main street in front of the city hall for the safety of residents. Under the leadership of Deputy Chief of Police and Major General Aram Hovhannisyan, Chief of the Criminal Police of Armenia, Colonel Vardan Vardanian, and Chief of Police of Yerevan, Colonel Sevan Kocharyan, negotiations commenced for an extended period. However, Margaryan did not respond to the police’s calls, nor did he heed his mother’s pleas when she arrived at the scene.

Seeing that Margaryan was unresponsive even to his mother, it was decided that to prevent further potential actions, by around 12:30 AM, the police special forces entered the building of the consolidated Masis community and found Margaryan deceased at his desk.

According to Shamshyan’s information, a factory-made pistol of the "Makarov" type, with its serial number erased, was found loaded with four bullets. Additionally, on Hambardzumyan's desk, a single "F-1" type grenade with its detonator was discovered, along with two spent shell casings from the gun.

Earlier reports indicated that on August 19, a state of emergency lasted over an hour in the Ararat region when a man armed with explosives entered the Masis City Hall, threatening to blow it up. According to the police statement, the man committed suicide.