Greek police hunt suspects in Crete vendetta shootout
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
Police on the Greek island of Crete on Sunday were on a manhunt to locate the perpetrators of a family vendetta shootout that left two dead and several injured.
The police in a statement said the incident Saturday in the mountainous village of Vorizia in central Crete “resulted in the fatal injury of a 39-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman.”
Police department spokeswoman Constantia Dimoglidou told state TV ERT Sunday it was “still not clear how many people were involved.”
“From our investigation it emerges that the member of one family came to the village in the morning, met with members of the other family and opened fire against them. This is how the gunfire exchange began,” she said.
Two other women and two men were also hurt and hospitalised, and the police said it was treating the latter two as potential suspects.
State media reported that AK-47 assault rifles and shotguns were used in the incident in the remote village, some 52 kilometres (32 miles) southwest of the island capital Iraklio.
It came hours after a house under construction in the village was damaged by an explosive device.
Heavily armed police reinforcements were rushed in from Athens, and the head of Greek police is personally heading the investigation.
Illegal gun ownership is rife on Crete, and family vendettas — frequently caused by perceived honour insults — are common on the island.
Guns are also often fired to mark celebrations at weddings and festivals.
Last Sunday, a 23-year-old shot and killed a 52-year-old man during a village celebration in western Crete.
A campaign in 2005, backed by the late, legendary Cretan Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis to encourage locals to avoid pointless gun violence, has had little effect.
Source: AFP
The original article: belongs to NEOS KOSMOS .
