At least two injured after attempting to attack police station in Armenian capital

Three gunmen on Sunday (Mar 24) tried to attack the police station in the Armenian capital city of Yerevan, said the country’s interior ministry. The incident left two of those who attempted to storm the police station injured after the men detonated a grenade and the third man has been detained.

What we know about the incident

Armenia’s interior ministry, as per preliminary information, said two of the three men had been wounded after the hand grenades they were carrying were detonated. The two injured had to be taken to the hospital after they sustained shrapnel wounds.

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Meanwhile, the third man remained outside the police station which is located in the Nor Nork district of Yerevan. According to local media reports, the police engaged in negotiations with the attacker in an attempt to neutralise him.

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None of the law enforcement personnel present at the police station were injured, said Armenia’s interior ministry. The incident took place around 5:00 pm (local time).

Armenia’s special police force was eventually able to detain the third gunman who remained inside, reported Russian news agency TASS.

According to the Russian news agency, the third man was holding a hand grenade with its pin pulled out before the police chief Aram Hovhannisyan arrived at the site.

Hovhannisyan tried to talk the attacker into surrendering for about 90 minutes before the building was stormed by the country’s special police force, reported TASS.

An AFP reporter at the scene said that he saw a man in military fatigues who was standing at the entrance to the building and threatening to detonate a hand grenade.

Armenia interior ministry spokesperson Narek Sargsyan told AFP that he was later disarmed and detained.

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“The man was in an inadequate state and it was impossible to understand what he was demanding,” said Sargsyan.

About the attackers

The Armenian health ministry described the condition of those injured as moderate and said their legs were wounded.

Prior to the attempted attack on Sunday, Interfax news agency citing local media reported that the gunmen might belong to the Combat Brotherhood organisation after around 50 of their members had been detained earlier in the day.

However, the organisation has since denied the report saying it had nothing to do with the incident, according to a report by Sputnik Armenia.

(With inputs from agencies)