Suspect confessed throwing grenade at Bush, said he would have done it again

A man suspected of throwing grenade at U.S. President George W. Bush while he was delievering speech at the central square of Georgia's capital Tbilisi, confessed, Georgian officials say.

The man was arrested after a fatal shootout with police.

Deputy Health Minister Irakly Giorgobiani said on Rustavi-2 television that the suspect made the admission in the hospital, where he is being treated for wounds suffered in the shootout that erupted in a village on the outskirts of the capital Tbilisi when police tried to arrest him late Wednesday, reports the AP. The man reportedly said if he could he would have done it again.

One policeman was killed in the shootout and the suspect, Vladimir Arutyunian, 27, fled into a nearby woods. He was captured about an hour later and taken to a hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds.

As Pravda.ru reports, the man was disclosed by local citizens. His neighbors characterized Arutyunian as a reserved and unsociable person.

Bush and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili were on the podium in front of a massive crowd in dowtown Tbilisi when the live grenade was thrown. The grenade landed less than 100 feet (30 meters) from the podium but did not explode.

Bryan Paarmann, an FBI agent, stated at a press briefing in Tbilisi in May that the grenade, which was thrown in the crowd of people during George W. Bush's speech in Tbilisi on May 10th, was prepared for action. "The grenade did not explode because of the insufficient shocking impact, as it hit a little girl who was listening to the US president with other people," Bryan Paarmann said.

Georgian government earlier offered a $75,000 reward for information on the suspect.