Gangland-style shooting leaves six dead in East Attica

Six men were gunned down in a seaside East Attica town on Monday in a gangland-style shooting that points to a turf war between rival criminal groups.

The men’s bodies were discovered inside and beside a car with German license plates. Sources have indicated that they may be of Albanian descent, though the police has not released any details concerning their identity.

According to witnesses speaking to Kathimerini, dozens of shots were heard at around 6 p.m. coming from the junction of Arionos and Akropoleos streets in Artemida, a town some 20 kilometers from Athens.

“We heard shots, a volley of many shots,” one resident said, while another said that he was “in the house and suddenly I heard gunshots. More than 100-150 shots.”

“At first I thought there was a wedding going on. I went outside, went to see what was going on and what I saw was really horrific. Four people in the car dead and two outside. I called the police, they came. That’s what I saw and that’s what I heard. At about 6 o’clock in the evening, quarter to 6,” another witness said.

Several witnesses said the bloody incident continued for some time while one described the shots as rapid and that they sounded like they “were being fired by automatic weapons from both sides.”

Investigators are reportedly looking for a car and a motorcycle that may have been involved in the incident. 

Sources have suggested that the victims’ car was ambushed.