Assault on Police Officers in Vanadzor, Shots Fired at Them: Media

Today, January 18th, a pursuit reminiscent of an action film took place in the Lori region, during which gunfire was heard. This is reported by Shamshyan.com.

According to the report, operational information was received by the criminal investigation department of the Lori regional directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding two individuals from the 'Third Quarter' neighborhood of Vanadzor city who were selling drugs. According to the information received, they were at that moment in an Opel vehicle in a section known as 'Darpasi Chal.'

At around 1:00 PM, two police officers from the Lori regional directorate set out in their personal vehicle to the specified location where they spotted the suspicious Opel. The officers approached the vehicle, identified themselves with their service credentials, and informed the two young men that they were suspected of illegal drug trafficking and needed to accompany them to the regional directorate.

Upon hearing this, the young men began to act erratically, exited the vehicle, and headed towards the river. The officers followed them and observed that they were attempting to throw something into the river. One of the officers managed to apprehend one of the passengers who had exited the vehicle, but they resisted and began to struggle, hurling insults at the police. During the altercation, one officer was thrown to the ground and sustained an injury to the head.

According to G. Shamshyan’s reports, during the fight, one of the young men continuously shouted, 'Come on, hit them, they are police, they know our place, they will find us and take us away.' Following this, one of the suspects, armed with a weapon, loaded it and aimed it at the officers, firing shots before attempting to flee. During the escape, when he realized he had fired all the bullets, he threw the weapon into the river.

Police officers received backup, and they managed to neutralize the youth who had opened fire. Meanwhile, the driver attempted to drive their vehicle towards the officers, pointing a gun at them, shouting, 'I will shoot you all, let my brother go, or none of you will leave here,' and somehow managed to rescue his 'brother' from the police and they fled in their vehicle, causing damage to the officers' car in the process.

Assistance arrived from police officers of the Lori regional directorate, led by the director Arthur Zakaryan and the officers of the Taroni division, under the leadership of division head Arsen Aghumyani. A real chase ensued, and the officers managed to locate and neutralize the two suspects on the road leading from Darpas village to Lernapat village.

According to G. Shamshyan, the individuals were identified as 23-year-old Gor G. and 25-year-old Gurgen G., residents of Vanadzor city. They are reportedly brothers and have been submitted from the Taroni division to the Lori regional investigative department of Armenia’s Investigative Committee.