A 36-year-old man identified as Artur Paronian was fatally wounded there at the weekend in what the Armenian police described as a “dispute among a group of people.” Another law-enforcement agency, the Investigative Committee, said on Monday that another local resident is suspected of firing the gunshots. It did not name the suspect, who is understood to have gone into hiding.
Hetq.am reported that several months ago Paronian bitterly argued with Vagharshapat Mayor Diana Gasparian’s husband, Aramayis Mirzoyan, and held a grudge against the latter because of that. It is not yet clear whether the fugitive suspect, identified by the investigative publication as Karen Badalian, is connected with Mirzoyan in any way.
Like his wife, Mirzoyan is a member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party and holds a seat in the town council. He has not commented on the killing so far. As for Gasparian, she has said through a spokesperson that he is unaware of details of the incident that shocked many residents of the historic town 22 kilometers west of Yerevan.
The spokesperson told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Wednesday that law-enforcement officers have raided the couple’s Vagharshapat apartment. He said they looked for video of the shooting that may have been filmed by security cameras.
“They didn't find anything because the gas station was under renovation and was due to be equipped with cameras after the work is finished,” added the official.
Gasparian, 36, has run the town, also known as Echmiadzin, since 2018. In recent years, she and her husband have faced media accusations of using their position to enrich themselves through dubious redevelopment projects and other business deals.
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service discovered last month that the mayor granted a fuel supply contract worth 13.6 million drams ($34,000) to her husband’s father, Ashot Mirzoyan, the owner of the gas station where the killing took place. Armenia’s Commission on the Prevention of Corruption was quick to launch an inquiry into the revelation. If found guilty of conflict of interest, Gasparian will only be fined 300,000 drams.
Gasparian is not the only pro-government mayor directly or indirectly linked to a deadly shooting lately. Lyudvig Gyulnazarian, the head of a neighboring rural community resigned in November two days after being reportedly involved in a violent dispute in Yerevan that left one person dead.
The Armenian government appointed Gyulnazarian as acting mayor in January, however, in preparation for a fresh election that will be held in the community on March 30. He will top the ruling party’s list of election candidates.