Bodyguard gunned down in Larnaca

A security guard was gunned down Thursday night in rural Larnaca, with reports saying the victim was a survivor in a previous mob hit in Ayia Napa back in 2016.

According to police, 29-year-old Panayiotis "Valentinos" Kallitchionis was killed Thursday night after he was shot around 10:55pm outside his parental home in Ormideia, Larnaca district.

Reports said another person described as a friend of Kallitchionis, who was also at the residence, heard shots being fired and rushed to the front porch where he found the victim on the floor in a pool of blood.

Police officers rushed to the scene around 11:10mp where they found Kallitchionis critically injured. An ambulance from the British Bases also rushed to the scene with emergency medics attempting to keep the victim alive but no avail.

The victim was transported to Larnaca General Hospital where doctors on duty pronounced him dead on arrival.

Famagusta police director Yiorgos Economou told reporters that Kallitchionis, a Greek Cypriot private security guard, was known to law enforcement authorities, but investigators did not yet have information on whether the victim had received recent death threats.

Kallitchionis had also been injured in a mob hit in Ayia Napa on 23 June 2016, when businessman Phanos Kalopsidiotis and three others, including an off duty cop, were shot dead while sitting on the patio at his restaurant.

Asked whether police anticipated an attack against Kallitchionis, the police director said “we cannot say that we were expecting a hit or whether the specific incident is tied to another incident. It just so happened that it took place today 25 June.”

Local media said a male neighbour also heard a motorcycle speeding away immediately after the shooting, adding that he also saw two suspicious motorcycles in the area a day prior to the shooting.

Additional reports said police authorities were almost certain the fatal shooting was linked to organized crime, without ruling out links to the Kalopsidiotis case.

Local media said Kallitchionis had worked as a body guard for Kalopsidiotis and had close links with the family.