The Armenian Investigative Committee has filed a motion to jail an Azerbaijani soldier charged with illegally crossing the Armenian border and shooting an Armenian woman, Ani Avetisyan, in the village of Shaki in Syunik Province.

In a statement published on Friday, Investigative Committee spokesperson Kima Avdalyan said that a motion had been filed with the courts seeking the detention of Azerbaijani citizen Nasimi Rahim oghlu Musayev, who has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with a weapon, illegally carrying a firearm, entering a private home without permission, illegal border crossing, and weapons smuggling.

The sister of the injured woman, Arpi Avetisyan, told RFE/RL that on the day of the incident, ‘the children were coming back from school, and they noticed that the door lock was broken.

‘The girl called her mum and told her that the door was broken. I do not know how the children got into the house. They went in and saw that the kitchen was messy. They went to the living room and saw that he was lying with a gun and attacked them and took their phone away. The child was calling; she screamed and their mother [who was still on the line] heard them.’

Arpi Avetisyan claimed that after arriving, her sister ‘saw the fence was closed and entered their home through the neighbours’ garden and jumped over the fence’.

‘The children screamed, “Mom, do not come close; he is armed.” but how could she not get close? He directed the gun at the child to shoot him; my sister tried to catch the bullet with her hand and lost her three fingers.’

She said that after shooting Ani Avetisyan in the leg, the soldier ran out of bullets after which Ani Avetisyan ‘stabbed him in the chest’. She claimed the oldest son’s injuries came from trying to protect his mother.

The details of the incident as related by Arpi Avetisyan have not been confirmed by the Armenian authorities.

Health authorities gave an update on Friday that Ani Avetisyan was in stable condition and was receiving treatment. She was initially taken to a hospital in Sisian and later transferred to Yerevan.

The Sisian Medical Centre said her two children, aged 12 and 15, who were with her during the incident, also sought medical help for injuries. The younger child had a soft-tissue contusion, while the older one had a fractured right wrist. Both are reported to be otherwise well.

The Armenian National Security Service (NSS) has said that Azerbaijan’s State Security Services (DTX) informed them about the soldier’s disappearance ‘under unknown circumstances’ on Tuesday. It added that the two agencies subsequently launched search operations for the soldier.

Baku confirmed the soldier’s arrest in Armenia shortly after, identifying him as Musayev. Citing the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office, pro-government media outlet APA said that the soldier was ‘found to be absent from his place of service and his whereabouts could not be determined’ since 26 September. It cited the Military Prosecutor’s Office that ‘reasonable suspicion’ had been established that Musayev had left his unit without authorisation.

The 112 Operational Management Centre of Armenia’s Interior Ministry received a report that an Armenian citizen had been shot in the leg in Shaki on 1 October. Authorities have determined that the shooter was Musayev.