Another clue in police shooting
The two Kalashnikov rifles used to fire on a police bus last week had not been used in Greece before, according to tests carried out by anti-terrorism experts. Sources revealed on the weekend that an examination of the bullet casings found at the scene of the shooting last Tuesday indicated that these weapons had not been used in any other attack, robbery or other criminal incident in Greece. The shots were fired from the grounds of the University of Athens’s residence halls, known as Panepistimioupolis. One bullet blew out two tires on the bus, while another struck the engine. Authorities believe that at least two people were involved in the attack and that a third person was probably acting as a lookout for the gunmen. There has been no statement so far from police on whether they believe it was the action of a domestic terrorist organization, such as Revolutionary Struggle, or an anti-establishment group that has decided to use more extreme means to make their point. Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos refrained from speculating. «Until the end of the investigation, I will not draw any conclusions,» he said in an interview with the weekly Real News. «What I can say is that criminal and provocative elements, which have no connection to the student movement and the university, are trying to cause confusion at universities but they will not succeed.» Police sources told Kathimerini that authorities are concerned that a hardcore body of domestic terrorists may be using the recent shooting of 15-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos by a special guard as well as the events that followed it as an opportunity to recruit new blood into the organization. Pavlopoulos defended his statement on the day after the teenager was killed, in which he said the police would be «on the defensive.» «Defending does not mean you adopt a passive stance,» said Pavlopoulos. «I defend means that I protect and support.»
