POLICE yesterday arrested a 34-year-old man on suspicion of killing a man, and seriously injuring three other men and a woman during two separate incidents in Larnaca’s Kofinou yesterday.
The 34-year-old Greek Cypriot is suspected of attacking and killing Panayiotis Stavrou, 54, and injuring his 27-year-old son Giorgos Stavrou.
Police said that at around 10.20am yesterday, a man carrying a Kalashnikov assault rifle attacked the father and son at a house in Kofinou, then went over to a local supermarket and shot the owners, two men aged 47 and 36, and a 36-year-old woman who happened to be there.
At the time of the attack, the father and son were fixing up a property, which reports said the 34-year-old was claiming for his own use.
The suspect had reportedly tried and failed to be given guardianship of a Turkish Cypriot property that the Guardian of Turkish Cypriot properties body had given to 27-year-old Giorgos Stavrou instead.
All Turkish Cypriot land in government-controlled areas comes under this body which is part of the interior ministry and allocates property to Greek Cypriots to use. The property is not hereditary.
Larnaca news agency said that the 34-year-old was also claiming a piece of government land which had been given to the supermarket’s owners. The 34-year-old allegedly shot at two of them and a woman who was shopping at the time, before a man aged 56 and also one of the owners managed to get the gun off of him.
The attacker then got in a car and left, police said. The two supermarket owners and the bystander were all taken to Nicosia general hospital with the two men considered seriously injured. Giorgos Stavrou was taken to Larnaca general hospital with superficial wounds.