A Cretan suspected of fatally shooting a young man he blamed for a traffic accident that fatally injured his son was charged Wednesday with murder committed in a calm frame of mind and firearms violations.
The suspect is being held under tight security as authorities fear the killing could trigger retaliation from friends or relatives of the victim, in a part of Greece where so-called honor killings that lead to family vendettas are still socially acceptable.
The 54-year-old man allegedly ambushed the 21-year-old victim in his car and shot him dead Tuesday on a road near Iraklio in central Crete, before surrendering to the police. His wife, who was allegedly present at the attack, was also charged over the killing.
The suspect reportedly held the 21-year-old directly responsible for the death in a 2023 traffic accident of his 17-year-old son, who had been in a car driven by the victim that crashed into a lamp-post. The boy died of his injuries after nearly three weeks in hospital, and his father never forgave the victim. The two young men had reportedly been friends.
Reports said the 54-year-old had tried at least twice after his son’s death to kill the victim, and had been banned from approaching him within less than 100 meters or communicating with him by phone or message.
The suspect’s defense lawyer, Giorgos Kokosalis, said his client had repented of his act and appealed Wednesday for “social peace and calm.”
“We want this circle of blood to close here,” Kokosalis said, according to local media. “By no means would I want to make a hero of the one side, but neither to condemn the other from the outset … [The suspect] never managed to get over his son’s unexpected death. And with his son, he himself died.”
The funeral is set for Thursday.