The 16-year-old teenager was shot in the head after the police fired twice while attempting to stop his vehicle
A police officer in northern Greece appeared in court today after he shot a teenager outside the city of Thessaloniki.
According to a report by the Associated Press on Tuesday, December 6, the 34-year-old police officer allegedly shot the victim in his head after the teenager was chased by police for not paying at a petrol station.
The 16-year-old who is a member of the Roma minority is presently in critical condition at a hospital in Thessaloniki, the report said.
The officer meanwhile faces charges of attempted manslaughter. Aside from that, the report said, he also faces charges of possible intent and a misdemeanor count of illegally firing his weapon.
Meanwhile, the officer has been given more time to prepare his defence after he asked for it, before he appears infront of an investigating magistrate. During a statement to the prosecutors, the police officers said, “I fired because the lives of my colleagues were in danger”, the report added.
The shooting took place at around 1 am on Monday. According to the report, officers chased a teenager driving a pickup truck, after he was reported by the fueling station employee for not paying €20.
Police in an official statement from the report on Monday said, “Two shots were fired in an attempt to stop the vehicle”. The statement added, “The motorcycle patrol had given chase to the pickup truck, whose driver allegedly ignored orders to stop and repeatedly ran red lights”. Police also said, the lives of officers on motorcycle patrols were in danger as the driver attempted to hit one of them with his pick-up.
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