A Man Shot in Moscow Casino
27th September, 2007
Armenian National Assembly deputy was hospitalized on Wednesday at about 4:30 am after being shot in the firearm incident in the centre of Moscow at the Metrapol Casino. The casino is situated in the same building as the Metropol hotel and astonishingly a step away from the Kremlin.
As reported by Interfax, after the gunshot, Arzakantsyan, 41, was taken to Sklifosovsky clinic in central Moscow where he was treated which gave good results, as on Wednesday afternoon it was stated that the man is in a satisfactory condition. The statement came form Sergei Buchevsky, head of the investigative department of the Tverskoi District Prosecutor's Office.
Mr. Buchevsky said investigators have several scenarios of what happened in deliberation, as the exact sequence of events is still unclear. "Either an argument broke out in a restaurant or on the street, or there had been bad blood even earlier," he suggested.
According to Buchevsky, the shooter managed to escape and became a wanted man the same day, Wednesday. If the man gets caught, he will face up to charges of attempted murder.
When casino was called on Wednesday, the lady on the line said that she knew nothing about the incident and those who are authorised to comment on the shooting are unavailable. According to her, the casino is following its usual routine and no changes were made to the way it operates. Nevertheless, this could not be checked independently, as casino security did not let the reporter through any of the entrances later that day.
According to the Armenian Embassy, Arzakantsyan’s presence in the capital was completely personal and did not relate at all to the Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan’s 3 day visit that finished that Wednesday, which is when he left Moscow.
On Wednesday the chief of the Interpol Armenian National Bureau, Vardan Yegiazaryan, told reporters in Yerevan, Novosti-Armenia reported, that the bureau is ready to join forces with Russian Authorities in this investigation. Nevertheless, according to Yegiazaryan, there has been no sufficient information delivered to the bureau about the shooting so far.
Apparantly Arzakantsyan is a very important man in Armenia’s cognac business and aside from other drinks he produces is Tigran Veliky, or Tigran the Great – one of the most expensive high-end cognacs there is.
The web site of the National Assembly states that Arzakantsyan was trained as a veterinarian and in 2003 became elected as a deputy to the parliament, as a member of the Republican Party of Armenia. At the moment he is on the committee of financial credit, budgetary and economic affairs there.
Well, this brings up thoughts, doesn’t it? I will stick to online casinos instead I think.
