In Brief
TEENAGER SHOOTING
Ballistics report points to ricochet of fatal bullet The magistrate investigating the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos by a police officer on December 6 has been handed a ballistics report, which indicates that the bullet that killed the teenager ricocheted before striking him in the heart, sources said yesterday. The report indicates experts believe that Grigoropoulos was standing in one of three spots when he was shot and, in each case, the bullet would have ricocheted, either off a wall or, more likely, off a round concrete bollard. The findings seem to back the officer’s claim that he did not fire directly at the teenager. However, they also appear to refute his claim that he fired warning shots in the air. AID BLOCKED Israel intercepts Greek vessel A Greek vessel on a second attempt to deliver medical supplies to injured Palestinians in Gaza was intercepted by Israeli warships some 160 kilometers from its intended destination. Members of the initiative, including 12 Greek doctors and several Euro MPs, condemned the intervention. Theodoros Dritsas, a left-wing deputy, referred to «an unacceptable act of piracy.» According to Karin Pally, the initiative’s coordinator, the vessel was surrounded by Israeli vessels while in international waters. Baby dies Firemen dispatched to extinguish a fire that broke out in a Roma settlement on the island of Rhodes late on Wednesday night recovered the charred remains of a 10-month-old baby from one of three burnt huts. According to the firemen, the child’s parents had not been in the hut at the time. The blaze is believed to have been started by a stove. Manhole trap A woman and her grandson suffered minor injuries after falling into an open manhole in Patras yesterday. The pair, whose ages were not revealed, were rescued from the 3-meter-deep manhole by firemen after passers-by heard the woman calling for help. It was unclear why the manhole had been uncovered. Arsonist suspect A 26-year-old suspected serial arsonist, caught by Thessaloniki police on Tuesday after allegedly planting an improvised explosive device outside a municipal police station, was remanded in custody yesterday after appearing before an investigating magistrate. The man, a known anarchist linked to a string of firebombings in the northern city in November 2007, reportedly denies all charges against him. Cabbie smuggler An Albanian taxi driver and several would-be immigrants he is alleged to have been transporting in his vehicle were in hospital yesterday after the cabbie collided with a truck in a bid to elude police near the northwestern city of Ioannina. The taxi driver accelerated after police started following him, regarding his over-packed car as suspicious. According to officers, the cabbie veered into the opposite lane and crashed into an oncoming truck. The truck driver and a passenger were also hospitalized. The extent of their injuries were unclear.
