The horrific shooting began shortly after 11am, with two injured men in hospital and “under guard, and their involvement in the armed incident is under investigation”, police said.
Two people were killed and at least six were injured this Saturday in a shooting on the Greek island of Crete.
The incident began shortly after 11 a.m. and was sparked by a long-running family dispute in the town of Vorizia, authorities said. The town is 32 miles south of the island’s largest city, Heraklion.
The two victims, a 39-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman, died during the shooting, police confirmed in a statement. Six other people were rushed to local hospitals with injuries of varying severity, local emergency services EKAB said in a statement.
Two wounded remain in hospital and “under guard, and their involvement in the armed incident is being investigated,” police said.
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The shooting prompted a massive response from security forces and emergency teams in the small mountain town where authorities launched a preliminary investigation.
The incident appears to be the latest chapter in a bitter dispute between two local families, according to local media, and follows an explosion on Friday night at a house under construction. No one was injured in that explosion.
According to Greek public broadcaster ERT, the two families had previously clashed over grazing land, which was settled through private mediation, a common practice in rural Crete. The dispute broke out again last year when one member of one family bought land to build a house in an area dominated by the other, according to local news.
The house that was the site of Friday’s explosion was reportedly built on this controversial land.
