NEWS

Suburban raid with assault rifle

Three intruders who broke into a house in the northern Athens suburb of Aghia Paraskevi early Sunday morning used firearms, including a Kalashnikov assault rifle, to threaten the homeowner before grabbing 150 euros, a laptop and the keys to the woman?s car, police in Athens said.

Before using the vehicle to make their getaway, the intruders broke into a neighboring apartment, belonging to the victim?s father, where they grabbed some valuables.

The weapons were not fired during the raid, which occured at about 7 a.m., and no injuries were reported.

According to police statistics for the first six months of 2011, crime has peaked with burglaries increasing by 132 percent. The rise has been linked by some to the repercussions of Greece?s financial crisis, which has resulted in marginalized groups such as undocumented immigrants and drug addicts being pushed further into the fringes of society.

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