Roma protesters burn tires, public bus

Groups of ethnic Roma burned tires and a bus late Wednesday in Athens suburbs.

The Roma broke into a tire shop in the western suburb of Aspropyrgos and set the tires on fire at about 9 p.m. Ten fire engines with 25 firefighters were sent to put the fire down.

Authorities warned residents just before midnight Wednesday to stay at home and shut windows because of the noxious smoke.

In Ano Liosia, northwest of Athens, Roma youth set fire to a public bus, which had no passengers.

The incidents follow a shooting, early Monday, of a 16-year-old by a police officer near Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city. The youngster had left a gas station without paying a €20 bill for filling up his pickup truck and was pursued by police. The officer has said he shot at the driver after he tried to ram one of the pursuing police motorcycles. The young driver, a Roma, is hospitalized in serious condition.