Suspect in attempted attack on U.S. and Georgian presidents wounded during arrest

Russia Journal, Russia
July 21 2005

TBILISI – Vladimir Arutyunyan, 27, an unemployed Armenian suspected
of the May attempted grenade attack on the U.S. and Georgian
presidents, underwent surgery at the Georgian Republican Hospital
last night. “Arutyunyan’s condition is stable,” a spokesman for the
Georgian Interior Ministry said. “His life is not in danger.”

Arutyunyan was arrested during a special operation yesterday in the
woods near his village.

He was arrested after a shootout in which Officer Zurab Kvlividze,
the head of the ministry’s counter-terrorism center, was killed.

The police operation was conducted after the authorities released
a photograph of the man suspected of throwing a grenade on Freedom
Square in Tbilisi on May 10.

The police examined all photographs and video recordings made on the
square on May 10 and questioned many people who were present at the
event in order to identify the suspect.

An unknown man threw an Armenian-made grenade wrapped in a red cloth
at the podium where the U.S. and Georgian presidents and their spouses
were standing.

The grenade hit a ten-year old girl’s head and fell on the ground but
failed to explode. About 150,000 people were gathered on the square
at the time.

The Georgian Interior Ministry, the FBI, and the U.S. Secret Service
are investigating the incident.

Detonators, chemicals, and special equipment for making explosive
devices were found in Arutyunyan’s apartment.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress