Authorities in the tiny Caucasus nation of Armenia were hunting Monday for a Russian soldier suspected of killing six members of the same family in a bloody shooting spree, police said.

Soldier Valery Permyakov is suspected to have shot dead the members of a local family — including a two-year-old child — in the city of Gyumri before disappearing from a nearby Russian military base where he was stationed.

A six-month-old infant was also hospitalised in serious condition after being found with knife wounds.

“Military boots with the name of this serviceman were discovered at the scene of the incident. A Kalashnikov rifle was also found,” Sona Truzyan, a spokeswoman for Armenia’s investigative committee, told AFP.

Russia is a firm ally of ex-Soviet Armenia, basing thousands of troops in the country and assisting it with patrols of the nation’s borders with Iran and Turkey.