A LIMASSOL man was killed yesterday morning and his brother seriously injured when a gunman ambushed their car and pumped it with bullets.
The attack took place at 8.20am on the isolated Ayios Amvrosios to Kyvides road in the hills outside Limassol.
Thirty-year-old Christos Christou died on the scene. His brother Stelios was slightly injured.
Police said yesterday afternoon they had arrested a 30-year-old man in connection with the attack.
The ‘Ninja brothers’ — as they were known — were ambushed on their way back from the police station in the nearby village of Pachna, where they had presented themselves earlier in the morning.
The two were awaiting trial on bomb-making charges, and had been ordered by a court to report to police every morning.
On their way back from the police station, the brothers stopped in the small village of Ayios Amvrosios, where they visited a friend.
They had then turned onto the main road, and were heading for their village of Kyvides, but before their car could accelerate to climb the hill, it was showered with bullets by the waiting gunman, who had hidden in vegetation on the left of the road.
The bullets ripped through the windshield and the left side of the white Volkswagen Golf, hitting Christos, who was in the passenger seat, in the head.
Despite being hit in the leg, Stelios sped off and managed to drive the bullet-riddled car to Limassol hospital, where doctors pronounced his brother dead on arrival.
Police said the assailant, whom they believe wore a hood and carried an automatic weapon, was probably working alone, and was hiding in the trees on the left of the road.
CID forensic teams sealed off the scene and scanned the area for clues, while they collected a large number of spent bullet shells.
They did not say what kind of weapon they thought the attacker had used or how many bullets had been fired.
The gunman is thought to have escaped on a dirt track next to the main road.
Early yesterday afternoon, police announced they had arrested a 30-year-old suspect from Ayios Amvrosios in connection with the attack.
Limassol CID Chief Andreas Kariolemos was tight lipped, revealing only that police had questioned more than 10 people about the murder.
Kariolemos also refused to comment on a court decision that released the brothers on bail pending their trial.
The Ninja brothers were last month allegedly caught red-handed making bombs in their house.
They were brought before a court, which released them pending trial, despite objections by police, who argued they had reason to believe the brothers’ lives were at risk. The ‘Ninjas’ had survived two earlier attacks last year.
In November, gunmen opened fire against their car outside Kyvides, but missed.
In a second incident, one of the brothers was shot at while working at a quarry they owned.
