JAM News
May 1 2020
01.05.2020
A double homicide has been committed in the Armenian city of Gavar, 90 km from the capital, provoking almost 500 people to form a lynch mob in protest.
The incident took place on April 28, but the motivation behind the bloody occurrence is not yet known.
Details on the incident
The Armenian media write that this is one in a string of recent events involving a showdown between underage Gavarians, which began two months ago. Adults tried to intervene in order to break up the youths, but shooting broke out.
A video appeared on social media showing cars come to a stop in the middle of the road before several men get out and start shooting.
As a result, two were killed, one of whom was a military police investigator. Four more were taken to the hospital with injuries.
Two of the attackers attempted to flee in their car, but crashed and are now also in the hospital.
Additional police forces were sent from Yerevan to Gavar. The chief of police himself went to the scene.
While representatives of law enforcement agencies worked at the crime scene, a crowd of 500 people burst into the Gavar hospital where the wounded had been taken.
After breaking through the police blockade, hundreds of people smashed everything in the medical center and reached the ward where the two shootout participants were held. Media wrote that they were friends and relatives of the dead. The mob then slit the throat of one of the injured men.
However, the press service of the investigative committee denied this report, officially declaring that after police intervened, the Gavarian ‘avengers’ “did not commit the crime and dispersed.”
More than 50 attack participants have already been detained. The Gavar hospital, despite the attack, remains open and under the surveillance of special police in case there is another riot.
Social media commentary
People on social media are following the developments and actively commenting. Here are some of the posts published on Facebook:
“What a shameful situation! When people have nothing to do, everyone becomes a crime boss. Of these 500 people, 300 certainly do not even have money for bread.”
“Fine, the young people don’t understand, they’re hot blooded, but look at what the adults have done. There is no mutual respect, no ability to forgive each other! Everyone feels like they know everything! What blame is there to be put on the police or the government?”
“Setting aside the anger of youths, since that’s something we can understand – they’re young. But how could the police allow 500 people to break into the hospital and kill everyone there? If they all live in one village, then you must punish the whole village!”
“The police must do their job and be stricter!”
“They say we’re in a state of emergency! Where were the policemen who always follow us and check our travel passes?”