Office of Armenia's ex-president Kocharyan was empty during shooting incident in Erebuni Plaza hotel
YEREVAN. Jan 23 (Interfax) - No one was present in the office of former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan when a man carrying firearms entered the Erebuni Plaza hotel, Viktor Sogomonyan, the head of Kocharyan's office, said.
"There was no one there at the moment of the incident. When our officials arrived at the scene later, they were not allowed to enter the building as it was encircled by police," Sogomonyan told reporters on Thursday.
He said he does not have any information on whether the incident is connected to the work of Kocharyan's office.
"I don't know whether this incident is connected to us. Naturally, we will issue a statement if we receive information confirming that the incident was connected to Robert Kocharyan's office," Sogomonyan said.
The police said earlier that there had been an armed man and shots fired in the Erebuni Plaza hotel.
In addition to Kocharyan's office, the hotel also hosts the editorial office of the opposition TV station Channel 5, which, according to local media, is funded by the Kocharyan family.
The UN office in Armenia, the government building, and the buildings of a number of ministries are located near to the hotel.
As a result of negotiations with acting police chief Arman Sarkissian, the man surrendered his weapon and was taken to a police station.
"The man was taken to a police station in the company of the acting police chief in his service car. There are no casualties," the press service of the Armenian police said.