Two individuals lost their lives, and a minimum of six others sustained injuries during an incident involving gunfire on Saturday on the Greek island of Crete. The event, instigated by a long-standing family feud in the village of Vorizia, commenced shortly after 11 am. The village is situated 32 miles to the south of Heraklion, the island’s major city.
Confirming the casualties, authorities stated that a 39-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman perished during the shootout. Emergency services conveyed six other individuals with injuries of varying degrees to local hospitals. Two men who were wounded are currently hospitalized under guard, pending investigation into their involvement in the armed altercation, as mentioned by the police.
Security forces and emergency response teams swiftly reacted to the gunfight, descending upon the small mountain village, where a preliminary inquiry has been initiated by the authorities. This incident seems to be the latest development in an ongoing feud between two local families and follows a detonation at a construction site on Friday evening, where fortunately no injuries were reported.
According to reports from Greek public broadcaster ERT, the two families had previously clashed over grazing lands, resolving the issue through private mediation, a common practice in rural areas of Crete. Tensions reignited last year when a member of one family acquired land to erect a residence in an area predominantly controlled by the other family. The property where Friday’s explosion occurred was allegedly built on this disputed parcel.