In what it seems a mafia-style assassination, a 45-year-old man was killed and another a 39-year-old was wounded after unknown assailants opened fire on them in the middle of the day. The victims were in a car near a station of the intercity bus depot in Thessaloniki early Tuesday afternoon.
The shooting occurred around 1 p.m. on Megalou Alexandrou Street when at least one person, riding in a black SUV reportedly blocked the victim’s vehicle and shot them.
The man who eventually succumbed to his serious injuries in the heart and the head wounds was rushed to hospital but doctors could not save his life.
The 39-year-old driver sustained only minor wounds.
Both victims are reportedly Turkish nationals.
The Department of Greek Police against the Organized Crime unit is investigating withe the assailants to remain at large still six hours later.
According to media, Greek authorities see in the attack a settling of accounts of the Turkish mafia dealing with in drugs.
Local media thestival.gr reported that also the killed co-passenger was also 39 years old.
The driver who has been interrogated by police has reportedly claimed that the two cars had accidentally met on the street earlier and with the later attacker to have shouted something to them. Short time later he blocked the way of their car and shot at them.
Later, media confirmed that both the victim and the surviving driver are 39 years old and residents of Attica.
The victim was a resident of Piraeus and was in Greek territory as “asylum seeker.” His compatriot, the car driver, is a resident Argyroupoli suburb of eastern Athens with a legal residence permit.
Both had stated that they were freelancers, while both had previously been detained by police in Thessaloniki for drugs possession.
