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Armenian Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan on Friday denied allegations that the police had been late in responding to an Armenian woman’s call for help when an Azerbaijani serviceman had unlawfully crossed the border and entered her home.
“The police officer was off duty when the victim called his mobile phone and briefly reported the incident without providing details. The call was difficult to hear, but nevertheless, acting as a police officer should, he responded immediately and arrived at the scene in less than 10 minutes. At the police officer’s direction, the victim’s son called the 112 Emergency Management Center. Under the standardized procedure, the response team must be dispatched within 10 minutes. In this case, however, the response team was already at the scene within 10 minutes,” the minister explained.
Armenia’s National Security Service said on October 1 that it had been notified by Azerbaijani authorities on September 29 that an Azerbaijani serviceman had allegedly gone AWOL and was missing.
The Azerbaijani side did not rule out the possibility that he had crossed into Armenia.
Armenia and Azerbaijan conducted a joint search operation.
Later, on October 1, Armenian emergency services received a report that a 39-year-old Armenian woman, Ani Avetisyan, had been shot in the leg at her home in Shaki. Authorities determined that the Azerbaijani serviceman was the shooter. He was apprehended and detained shortly afterward in the settlement after fleeing the woman’s home.
Health authorities said earlier that Avetisyan was in stable, non-life-threatening condition and was receiving the necessary treatment. Her children, aged 15 and 12, who were with their mother during the incident, also sought medical assistance. The 12-year-old sustained soft-tissue bruising, while the 15-year-old sustained a fracture of the right wrist.
The Azerbaijani serviceman, Nasimi Musayev, faces charges of illegally crossing Armenia’s state border; smuggling military-use products, firearms and ammunition; illegally trafficking in firearms and ammunition; illegally entering another person’s residence against their will; and causing grievous bodily harm under aggravating circumstances, including with a firearm. He is being held in pretrial detention.