YEREVAN. – An Armenian man who took 3-year-old boy hostage at a pre-school in the town of Armavir had attacked his ex-wife's family in the past, ex- father-in-law told Armenian News-NEWS.am correspondent. 

Edgar Hovhannisyan, the father of Argam Hovikyan's ex-wife, said that on August 8 Agram attacked him with a truncheon. The man also hit Edgar's mother on the head. Edgar contacted police and showed them the copy of a note with threats that had been sent by Argam. However, police did not respond adequately.

“I wondered whether they would do something until he [Agram] killed someone from my family?” Edgar says. 

The man explains that Agram was not afraid of police because he said he had paid them. And, this was not the first time that police ignored Edgar’s warnings about the behavior of his ex-son-in-law. 

A few months before the incident, Argam took a loan on behalf of Lilit, his ex-wife, by using fake papers proving her salary was 297,000 drams – much higher than a salary of a pre-school teacher.  Lilit’s parents had to pay this loan along with penalties.

Lilit’s father said his former son-in-law was a gambling addict and used to sell his daughter’s jewelry. 

Agram’s father was also aware of his addiction. The man told Edgar that he had sold his  apartment for $28,000 to gamble money. 

Edgar is confident that if police were more attentive to his warnings, they could have avoided the incident. 

As reported earlier, Agram Hovikyan seized the pre-school in Armavir taking 3-year-old-boy hostage on Monday. After long negotiations police managed to release the boy. The man hurt himself and his ex-wife. The young woman was hospitalized and underwent a surgery.