A 24-YEAR-OLD Georgian was critically injured yesterday morning after a man shot him in the chest at his place of work at an ESSO petrol station in Strovolos.
The victim underwent surgery at a private Nicosia hospital, however, he is not believed to be out of danger yet.
“An attempted murder took place this morning at 6.45am at a petrol station in Strovolos where a 24-year-old employee was shot by an unknown man, who then got in his car and fled the scene,” said police spokesman Andreas Angelides.
Angelides said the assailant got out of his car and spoke to the victim first, before he pulled out a gun and shot him.
“From initial investigations it looks as if he was shot in the chest,” said Angelides. He escaped in a red Mazda saloon with registration number BBC 287.
According to the petrol station owner, who preferred to remain anonymous, the employee appeared to know the attacker because he had gone towards him smiling.
“He [the shooter] pulled up to one of the pumps and our employee was serving someone else at the time and then went to serve him,” he said. “He went towards him smiling, they said something and then he pulled out a gun and shot him at point blank range,” said the petrol station owner.
Angelides said that the information they received so far leads police to believe that the assailant is a foreigner, however, this too is under investigation. The petrol station owner confirmed this saying that they believed that the shooter was also a Georgian national as they were speaking to each other in the same language.
State broadcaster CyBC said that police have seized CCTV equipment from nearby shops and businesses in an effort to locate the perpetrator.
“The scene has already been cordoned off with CID Nicosia looking into all aspects [of the crime] including the motives behind it,” said Angelides.
