The 1999 Armenian parliament shooting was an attack on the Armenian parliament in the capital Yerevan on October 27, 1999 at 5:15 p.m, by a group of armed men that killed the Prime Minister of Armenia and 7 other high ranking officials.
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The government was holding a question-and-answer period when five gunmen entered, led by Nairi Hunanyan who was a former journalist, plus his brother and uncle. They burst into the parliament chamber after they easily obtained passes allowing them to enter parliament, smuggling in their weapons under their overcoats. They fired their automatic weapons and killed Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, Parliamentary Speaker Karen Demirchyan, Deputy Speakers Yuri Bakhshyan and Ruben Miroyan, Armenia's Emergencies Minister Leonard Petrosyan, Mikael Kotanyan and at least two others. One of the victims was also hit in the head repeatedly with the butt of an assault rifle. The United Nations General Assembly meeting was interrupted in its schedule to pay tribute to the victims of the shooting.[1]
After the killings, the gunmen announced they were staging a coup d'état[2] and claimed that they wanted to punish "corrupt officials."[3] The leader of the group said they intended to kill only Prime Minister Sargsyan, and the other deaths were "mistakes". Security forces quickly surrounded the parliament building. The gunmen surrendered to the authorities on Thursday morning, 28 October, and freed about 40 hostages after they were allowed to speak on national television and were promised a fair trial and safe passage by negotiations with the President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan.[4][5] Nairi Hunanyan and the five gunmen were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
Thousands of people gathered in Yerevan's Freedom Square for funeral services as the nation continued three days of official mourning for its prime minister and seven other slain government officials. About 20,000 people, including Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, came to pay their respects for the dead. United States President Bill Clinton offered condolences and support by telephone to Armenian President Robert Kocharyan. Hunanian was later quoted as saying "We wanted to save the Armenian people from perishing and restore their rights."