Man held over shooting of nephew

A 48-YEAR-OLD man from a Limassol village has been detained in connection with shooting his nephew with an army-issue assault rifle after an argument.

Michalis Stavrou surrendered to police shortly after firing two shots at his nephew, 32-year-old Christos Polydorou outside a coffee shop at the village of Dierona.

Polydorou sustained injuries to his back and leg but his condition was not life-threatening.
On Wednesday Stavrou was remanded in custody for eight days.

The shooting took place on Wednesday evening after an argument the two men had over macho pride.

The two men started arguing in the coffee shop and after a while Stavrou left.

He returned a bit later, while Polydorou was outside the establishment.

He got out of his car wielding a G3 automatic, issued to reservists by the National Guard, and opened fire at Polydorou while his brother, the victim’s father, was trying to disarm him.

“My son and my brother argued; he got out of his car with the army G3 and fired a burst.

“The bullets just missed me and hit the kid while he was trying to run,” the father said.

He added: “I tried to grab the gun but he turned it against me” and threatened to shoot him before leaving in his car.

The 32-year-old was rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds on the left calf and left shoulder blade.

The suspect surrendered to police around two hours later and later led police to the place where he had stashed the weapon.

Limassol police director George Papageorgiou said the suspect had made certain claims, which were being investigated.

Deputy Chief of police Charalambos Koulentis was briefed about the incident.

“I have come to Limassol for a fuller briefing about the crime, especially after recent crimes, which I have to admit, worry us a lot,” Koulentis said.