Police are hunting the gunmen who opened fire on a 33-year-old man in Ayia Napa early on Friday, in an attack they believe targeted him because his brother is serving a life sentence over the resort’s 2016 quadruple murder.
Police said the investigation was expected to extend to the Central Prisons, as one of the main lines of inquiry is a possible link to the activities of the 48-year-old inmate, who was convicted in September 2017 and handed four life sentences over the killings.
Businessman Fanos Kalopsidiotis was the target on both occasions: first in a quintuple murder on June 23, 2012, and then in the 2016 attack that killed him alongside police sergeant Elias Hadjiefthymiou and his wife Skevi.
One of the gunmen involved in that ambush, which unfolded in a restaurant in front of dozens of diners shortly after 10pm on June 23, 2016, was also found dead at the scene.
The quadruple murder remains one of the most serious crimes committed in Cyprus in recent years.
Investigators believe the attackers wanted the 33-year-old dead; he has no previous police record. According to police, he was ambushed a few metres from his home at around 5:40am as he drove through the Kokkines area of Ayia Napa. The gunmen opened fire as he turned right, hitting the car several times, though he escaped unharmed.
A Volvo with forged registration plates was found burning in open ground in Avgorou shortly after the shooting, and police believe it was the vehicle used by the attackers.
Famagusta police spokesman Andreas Konstantinou confirmed the link at 10:30am on Friday, adding that Larnaca CID had received two reports of similar vehicles being stolen in the preceding days. Investigators believe the burnt-out car was one of them.
Investigators are appealing for CCTV footage and accounts from residents to help trace the attackers’ movements.
Both crime scenes have been cordoned off, with Famagusta CID and the Forensic Investigation Department of Police Headquarters examining them for evidence that could identify those responsible.
