Man shot four times in murder attempt (Updated)

 

A 40-year-old man was shot four times outside his Nicosia home on Monday evening, in a case of attempted murder.

Panayiotis Panayiotou was shot at around 6:55pm as he exited his car parked outside his home on Riga Fereou street in the Ayios Omologites area of the capital.

According to police, he was shot four times and was rushed to Nicosia general hospital where he was undergoing surgery.

The 40-year-old was still conscious when the ambulance arrived and reports said he named people in relation to the attempt against him.

Police quickly flooded the area but the timing of the murder attempt is believed to be deliberate as so much of the police force’s attention was turned towards the security of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who is on his first official visit to the island.

It is believed the suspects used this as an opportunity to carry out the attack.

The motive is believed to be personal differences.

Panayiotou had been injured in another shooting in 2008, when an attempt was made on the life of Alexi Mavromihali (also known as Alexoui), an underworld figure, and Panayiotou was with him.

Panayiotou is known to police for drugs related cases and for associating with members of criminal gangs, media reports said.

Investigators were combing through surveillance footage on Monday and interviewing witnesses.

 

 

 

 

 

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