YEREVAN — 1999 · Major Tragedy

The Armenian Parliament Shooting

SolvedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

At around 17:15 on 27 October 1999, five gunmen entered Armenia's National Assembly in Yerevan and opened fire during a session. Eight people were killed, including Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Speaker Karen Demirchyan, and about 30 were wounded. The attackers held some 50 people hostage overnight and surrendered the following day. In a trial that ended in December 2003 they were sentenced to life imprisonment. The attack decapitated the country's political leadership in an instant, and the question of whether others had ordered it continued to be debated in Armenia for years.

Date: 1999
Place: Kentron, Armenia, Yerevan, AM
Category: Major Tragedy
Case Status: Solved
Coordinates: 40.1896, 44.5232 ↗

Timeline of Events

27 October 1999Five gunmen opened fire in parliament; eight people died.
28 October 1999The attackers released the hostages and surrendered.

2 December 2003The attackers were sentenced to life in prison.
27 October 2009On the 10th anniversary, questions about masterminds persisted.

Sources

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