Armenian Police Chief personally negotiates release of 3 y.o. hostage with armed fugitive in Yerevan

YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. A wanted fugitive was apprehended and taken into police custody after a hostage situation was successfully resolved with the national police chief personally negotiating with the gunman.

Police officers were dispatched to a residence at Ghapantsyan Street in Yerevan on Wednesday morning to locate and apprehend a fugitive. When the man saw police approaching, he fired shots from a handgun and then took his own 3-year-old son hostage and threatened to harm him if officers were to attempt arresting him.

Police Chief of Armenia Vahe Ghazaryan, his deputy Aram Hovhannisyan, the Chief of the General Department of Criminal Police Vardan Vardanyan, Yerevan Police Commissioner Sevan Kocharyan and other high ranking officers personally arrived at the scene to defuse the situation.

“Vahe Ghazaryan negotiated for around two hours with the gunman, as a result of which hesurrendered his firearm and released the child. The fugtive was taken into custody on charges of crimes under three articles of the Criminal Code,” police said.

No one was physically hurt in the incident.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan