A 5-year-old child died after suffering a fatal gunshot to the head in the town of Markopoulo in eastern Attica prefecture (east of Athens proper) on Friday.
A vehicle the boy was in came under fire from unknown assailants in the area of Markopoulo, resulting in the boy being fatally wounded to the head.
Later media reports cited an ambush by two passengers in another vehicle, with roughly 30 spent cartridges from an assault rifle recovered at the scene.
The child was rushed to a nearby health center at 10 a.m. with a serious head injury.
The boy, identified as a member of a Roma family, was in critical condition and was subsequently transferred to the Aglaia Kyriakou Children’s Hospital in central Athens. Doctors attempted resuscitation efforts but were unable to save the child’s life, pronouncing him dead.
Police, who are conducting an investigation on the incident, released a statement: “Earlier, a toddler was brought to the Markopoulo Health Center by their parents, injured by a firearm, and was later transferred under police escort to the Aglaia Kyriakou pediatric hospital.”
The east Attica region hosts a handful of Roma camps amid more-or-less middle to upper-middle-class townships.
Authorities believe a “vendetta” between rival Roma clans in the area is behind the fatal shooting.
