YEREVAN. – Memorial service for the slain family from Gyumri has commenced in Surb Nshan church of the city.

Many wreaths from officials, organizations, MPs, as well as numerous people are placed in the churchyard, the Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter says.

The residents of Gyumri are leaving the church with tears in their eyes. The locals say it is the most tragic incident since the 1988 earthquake. Some locals said they do not believe that Petrmyakov was acting alone.

Later in the day a car rally will be held in Gyumri, to demand that Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, the suspect in Monday’s brutal killing of the Avetisyan family members, be handed over to the Armenian law enforcement agencies.

Six members of the Avetisyan family were shot dead and the six-month-old baby was wounded in their house in Gyumri on Monday. Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of the city’s Russian 102nd Military Base, is the main suspect in this crime. Permyakov was apprehended near the Armenian-Turkish border, in the vicinity of Armenia’s Bayandur village.