Two shot in elite unit accident
Two members of an elite harbor police squad that holds a leading slot in Athens 2004 security planning were seriously injured yesterday when a colleague’s gun apparently went off by accident during a break from training. Officers Costas Douzinas and Stathis Papageorgopoulos were shot in the neck and shoulder, respectively, in the incident which occurred around 11.30 a.m. in Piraeus, during what the Merchant Marine Ministry described as a break in their regular training. Both were hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries. The ministry said the two were shot when a fellow special forces officer’s gun went off accidentally in the barracks of the Piraeus Port Authority’s Special Missions Squad. The elite unit will be on duty during the August 13-29 Olympics, with a mission to undertake counterterrorism operations on ships at sea or in port. Olympics organizers plan to put up thousands of foreign officials and visitors in 11 cruise ships that will be moored in the port of Piraeus during the Games. An inquiry was ordered into yesterday’s shooting.
