Azerbaijani Serviceman Detained in Armenia After Shooting Syunik Region Resident

SYUNIK — An Azerbaijani serviceman who allegedly left his military unit without authorization and entered Armenia has been detained in Syunik Province after shooting and wounding an Armenian resident in the village of Shaki, Armenian authorities reported.

According to Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS), Azerbaijan’s State Security Service informed its Armenian counterpart on September 29 that a serviceman from an Azerbaijani military unit had left his post under unknown circumstances. Azerbaijani authorities said they could not rule out the possibility that he had illegally crossed the border into Armenia.

Following the notification, Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities launched search operations.

On October 1, shortly after 2 p.m., Armenia’s Interior Ministry received an emergency call reporting that an armed man had entered a home in Shaki, in Syunik Province, and shot a woman in the leg.

According to Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, the suspect was identified as Azerbaijani serviceman Nasimi Musaev. Authorities said Musaev entered a residence on Shaki’s 6th Street at around 2 p.m. and opened fire after being discovered. A woman born in 1987 sustained a gunshot wound.

Musaev then fled the scene but was subsequently located at another address in Shaki. He was detained at approximately 3:30 p.m. and transferred to investigative authorities.

The injured woman was taken to Sisian Medical Center, where she received treatment before being transferred to Yerevan.

Later that day, the hospital reported that the woman’s two children, born in 2011 and 2014, had also sought medical attention for injuries. Authorities said the younger child sustained soft-tissue bruising, while the older child suffered a fractured right wrist.

Armenia’s Investigative Committee has opened criminal proceedings in connection with the incident. Investigators collected evidence from the scene and ordered a forensic medical examination. Armenian authorities said details of the incident were also communicated to Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office said Musaev had been serving at a military unit stationed in the Lachin direction and had been reported missing from his post on September 26.