Greece opens probe into shooting of 2 Turkish citizens

THESSALONIKI

A Turkish national was killed and one other wounded in a shooting in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Feb. 25, authorities have announced.

The survivor told authorities that the two victims had been driving in a car near the city’s long-distance bus terminal at around 1 p.m. local time (11:00 GMT) when another car blocked their path and an assailant inside opened fire, police said.

The driver was wounded and was hospitalized, while the passenger was killed, authorities said.

Officers searching the area found nine bullet casings.

The pair, who haven't been publicly identified, had been living in Greece legally for about two years, authorities said.

The police organized crime unit has been tasked with investigating the shooting.

While gun violence is rare in Greece, organized crime rings are known to operate in the country. In October 2024, Greece created an "FBI-style" police unit to combat organized crime after a raft of gangland killings, its police minister said.

In the past two years, several prominent mobsters have died in ongoing gang wars, with some of the killings in broad daylight.

Last July, a topographer was shot dead in his car near a busy Athens street, with the murder attributed to real estate disputes on the glitzy island of Mykonos.

There have been several shootings attributed to Turkish organized crime groups in recent years — in one of the deadliest, six Turks were shot dead in a car ambush in a seaside town near Athens in September 2023.