Shooting in Kolonos: arrested Roma deny charges

Four Roma brothers arrested over the shooting attack on a 25-year-old man in Kolonos deny attempted murder.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, September 18when the victim was near a souvlaki in the area. The victim saw two cars approaching him, and their occupants pulled out guns and opened fire on him. The man was ultimately unharmed, as he managed to hide behind a car parked at the scene.

The shooting incident in a densely populated area of ​​Athens has sparked a sharp reaction from MPs from the ruling ND party, who have filed parliamentary inquiry to the competent ministries and demanded a report on what happened.

The man's statement to the authorities shocks: “I went to the souvlaki place to buy souvlaki. I took them and sat down to eat on the open area in front of the store, where there were tables, on the sidewalk. And then I saw two cars that I immediately recognized. The first was a silver Hyundai, driven by O.A. and his brother as a passenger, the second was a Citroen, in which O.N. and O.D. were sitting.

I immediately stood up because I knew the brothers would attack me, and then I saw the first brother, who was a passenger, put his hand out of the window and fired a black pistol straight at me while both cars were moving at low speed. I instantly fell to the ground and hid behind a parked car. I heard at least six shots, after which the car drove away.”

The brothers deny the charges.

A search was then launched, during which officers from the DIAS group eventually located the two vehicles in which the accused were located and took them to the Colon security department, and during a search inside the vehicles, a cartridge case from a firearm was found and seized. However, despite the fact that the victim identified the perpetrators of the attack, the arrested brothers categorically deny the charges, claiming that they were at home when the shots were fired.

In particular, in their testimony, the accused stated that they had no disagreements with the 25-year-old man, and therefore there was no reason to attack him. One of the accused stated the following: “With the rest of my comrades we are brothers. A.A. (victim) is a distant relative. His father and my father are cousins. I was at home with my wife A. O. I went to my father's house with my wife and children, where my brothers N. and S. were also, and we sat down at the table. Suddenly the police came and said that they were going to conduct an official investigation into us.

We had no disagreements with A.A., and I don’t know why he accused us. In the past, he argued with S. about places in the market, not about anything important. I don't have a car. I don't know anything about the shell casing found in the car because it's not my car. My brother S. has a red Citroen, and my other brother N. has a silver Hyundai. The Citroen was parked. I don't know when these machines were last used because they are not mine.”

In turn, his brother, who owns the car where the shell casing was found, said that he collects junk and that perhaps the shell casing fell out of the bag he had collected. “That day I went to Omonia to buy things for the children for school. When I returned, they went to my father's house where my brothers and sisters were gathered. Suddenly the police came and told us to go to the station for a formal check. I collect junk, books, clothes, and the shell casing found in the Hyundai may have come from a bag of things we collect from trash cans,” he noted.

As for the other two brothers, they testified in the same vein, stating that they were at home at the time of the incident.

Released with restrictions

Finally, after giving testimony, brothers-robbers were released with restrictive conditions. The defendants' lawyer, Mr Ioannis Glykas, spoke about the case, expressing satisfaction with this development.

“The inconsistencies between the statements of the complainant and the police officer, the absence of additional witnesses, the absence of video footage and an autopsy report, and the unsubstantiated statements of the alleged victim led to the just decision not to impose temporary detention on the four accused for the crime of attempted murder. We are satisfied with this development of events and the quality of the investigative process, as well as the significant efforts aimed at establishing the truth,” he noted.

P.S. The people who staged a real hunt for their victim in one of the central squares of the capital of Greece were released from custody on the grounds of “insufficient evidence”, despite the fact that a cartridge case from the pistol from which they shot at the target was found in the car of one of the brothers. There were undoubtedly cameras in the square and in the surrounding area from which recordings could have been obtained during this time, and eyewitness accounts were not taken into account. The judge, without waiting for information from investigators, decided to release the brothers. Then we are surprised by the unprecedented increase in crime…

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