ArmeniaNow The incident that took place between a military commander and village youth near an army post in Tavush on New Year’s Eve has led to the death of 20-year-old Taron Yengibaryan, and the arrest of Colonel Sergey Karapetyan.

Yengibaryan was among three youth who were involved in a skirmish with the commander. His family says the young man received a concussion while trying to flee from Karapetyan who had opened fire with an automatic weapon. Yengibaryan died in hospital on Monday.

No official information has been released yet, however Yengibaryan’s relatives say he and some friends from the Getahovit village went to the army post to give medicine to a friend stationed there.

One source says the officer told the young men to leave and they refused. However villagers say Karapetyan threatened the youth, then when they tried to leave, shot at their car. It is also alleged that the commander was intoxicated.

“Nothing was left from the car; it was turned into a sieve,” head of Getahovit village Sargis Ghazaryan told ArmeniaNow. “Then he took the young men to his office and started beating them, and started shooting (in his office). There were many traces of shooting on the walls of his room, which he quickly repaired, however he was caught.”

According to preliminary data, when the commander opened gunfire on the walls, the scared young men tried to jump from the second floor of the building and flee, as a result of which Yengibaryan suffered a serious brain trauma and another youth broke his leg.