Two Armenian Soldiers Dead, Two Arrested In Separate Incidents of Violation of Gun Safety Rules

The First Garrison Investigation Department of Armenia's Defense Ministry has instituted an investigation into the circumstances of the death of conscript Spartak Qalashyan, the country's Investigative Committee reports, stating that a fellow soldier, H. Bareyan, has been arrested on suspicion of violating the rules of safe weapons handling.

According to preliminary data, Qalashyan was fatally wounded in a Nagorno-Karabakh military unit at around 7 am on Thursday as Bareyan's service weapon went off accidentally while he was cleaning it. The Investigation Department has launched a criminal case on a charge of a breach of rules for handling weapons which negligently caused the death of another person.

In a separate incident, conscript Karen Aghabekyan sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest at around 2:30 pm Thursday while driving his unit's UAZ military van. Conscript P. Yegoryan, a van passenger, was arrested on suspicious of negligently killing his fellow as a result of violating the rules for safe gun handling. “The First Garrison Investigation Department is taking all necessary investigative and procedural measures to establish the circumstances into the accident and to ensure an objective and well-rounded investigation,” authorities say.