Eight officers shot, 2 dead in shootout

(ΑΝΑ-ΜPA) -- A total of eight police officers were struck by gunfire during a deadly shootout with three or four assault-rifle wielding perpetrators Tuesday afternoon in the working-class district of Renti, near the port of the Piraeus.

Two motorcycle policemen were fatally shot in the incident, one dying at the scene and the other roughly three hours later at a local hospital. The fallen officers were identified as Georgios Skylogiannis, 22, who joined the force in 2009 and special police guard Ioannis Evangelinelis, 23, who joined in 2008. Another policeman is in serious but stable condition after sustaining a gunshot wound in the abdomen, while a fourth was shot in the knee.(ΑΝΑ-ΜPA)

The violent incident occurred during a police chase and after the vehicle driven by the gunmen, a Volvo SUV, was identified as sporting stolen license plates. The vehicle itself, later found abandoned with two assault rifles and a handgun inside, was also stolen from a private residence in northern Athens that was also burglarised. (ΑΝΑ-ΜPA)

Another four motorcycle officers were hit by gunfire but emerged unscathed thanks to the bullet-proof vests and helmets they were wearing. The assault rifles were identified as the AK-47 type, i.e. "Kalashnikovs".(ΑΝΑ-ΜPA)

The incident comes a week after police intercepted a getaway car on a south-central highway carrying five armed suspects, all Albanian nationals, suspected of robbing a handful of banks and post offices in the Fthiotida prefecture in the course of several days. One suspect was killed during the incident while the others were arrested. (ΑΝΑ-ΜPA)