GYUMRI. – The Surb Nshan (Holy Sign) Church in Armenia’s Gyumri city is full of people for the past several hours. The residents are awaiting the requiem service to be offered for six-month-old Seryozha Avetisyan.

The body of the baby boy, who died Monday at Surb Astvatsamayr (Holy Mother of God) Medical Center in capital city Yerevan, will soon be brought to the church.

Wreaths are already placed at the churchyard and near the entrance of this house of worship. A large number of police forces are patrolling the area.

To note, the burial ceremony for little Seryozha will take place on Wednesday at the Gyumri cemetery, where the bodies of the six other members of his family already have been laid to rest last week.

As reported earlier, six members of the Avetisyan family—including a two-year-old girl—were shot dead, and a six-month-old baby—Seryozha Avetisyan—was wounded in their house in Gyumri on January 12. But the baby boy died in hospital on Monday.

Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of the 102nd Russian Military Base in the city, stands accused in this crime. Permyakov was apprehended by the Russian border guards near the Armenian-Turkish border on the same night, he was arrested on January 14, and he is held in custody at the Russian military base.

The soldier is charged under Russian law, with “the murder of more than two people” and “desertion with a service weapon.” The Investigative Committee of Armenia also has launched a criminal case on these murders.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia had stated that Valery Permyakov will face justice under Russian law, and this information had provoked a wave of protests in Armenia, especially in Gyumri and capital city Yerevan.