Gyumri's former mayor detained over murder
Vartan Ghukasyan, the former mayor of Armenia's Gyumri city, was detained with his associates late on Tuesday in connection with the killing of a man, who is believed to be connected with his rival in Gyumri, Factinfo reports. The Prosecutor's Office of Shirak region has confirmed the information, saying that Ghukasyan will be interrogated in the police department.
Two men were shot by unknown gunmen outside an apartment block on Shirakatsi Street in Gyumri. Harutyun Khachatryan, better known in Gyumri as "Kamoyakan Godfather Harut," and Artyom Karapetyan, nicknamed "Killer Sheko," were wounded in the gun fight near Khachatryan's apartment at around 1p.m., April 23. Karapetyan died in hospital later in the day.
Karapetyan reportedly brawled with one of Ghukasyan's associates in the run-up to the 2012 parliamentary elections, and Khachatryan's son reportedly quarreled with Kolya Ghukasyan, one of Ghukasyan's nephews, earlier this year. The latter was arrested at an Armenian-Georgian checkpoint after yesterday's killing. Factinfo alleges that the shooting was the continuation of the skirmish that took place between Kolya Ghukasyan and Harutyun Khachatryan. The source also reports that a dozen of loyalists of the ex-mayor have been detained in connection with the gun fight.
