Suspect remanded in Ayia Napa shooting

A male suspect in the Ayia Napa shooting has been remanded in custody for eight days, as police continue to investigate a botched mob hit in the wee hours Sunday at a pub in the island’s resort town.

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The suspect, described as a 38-year-old Greek Cypriot from Paphos, was arrested in Larnaca on Monday in connection with a shooting in Ayia Napa, described in the media as a mafia-hit-gone-wrong.

According to local media, the suspect was brought before a Larnaca District Judge on Tuesday morning, facing multiple charges including attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, illegal possession and illegal carrying of a firearm, and possession of explosives.

Police believe the suspect was involved in the shooting at the Liquid Café Bar on Krio Nero Avenue, where four people inside were seriously injured after shots were fired from the street. The intended target, believed to be Costas Kritikos, a local businessman and former chairman Ayia Napa FC, had left the place 15-20 minutes prior to the shooting after sensing something was off.

Video footage showed a man walking outside the Liquid Café Bar on Krio Nero Avenue and looking into the premises while talking on the phone, 15 minutes prior to the shooting which took place around 2am.

Police prosecutors told the female judge that they had obtained evidence linking the suspect to the gun.

Prosecutors also told the court that initial tests on a firearm found near the scene as well as clothes in the suspect’s residence had also been obtained and become part of the investigation.

Initial reports pointed out that it had not been clear whether the shooter and the person on the phone, both recorded by security cameras, were one and the same.

Police Chief Kypros Michaelides, who visited the scene of the crime following the incident, assured Justice Minister George Savvides that investigators would get to the bottom of the case.

Media reports described the shooting victims as innocent bystanders, sitting at a different table from the intended target who got up and left.

“This is definitely one aspect that ought to make us all even more worried,” Savvides said.