The motive behind the mafia murder and especially the person who held the 9mm pistol and killed with two bullets the 39-year-old Turkish national outside the “Macedonia Bus Station” in Thessaloniki, are still being sought by experienced police officers of the Organized Crime Sub-Division.

Almost 24 hours later, the perpetrator who got down from the black car – a 4×4 type – and fired nine bullets in plain sight at the vehicle the victim was riding in with his compatriot, remains missing and a manhunt is on to get him into the hands of the authorities.

According to information from protothema.gr, the police examined for hours and with great care the driver of the vehicle in which the 39-year-old was riding, as he is the only person who knows what happened both during the attack on the Alexander the Great street, and what may have preceded earlier, since he had friendly relations with the victim. However, the witness, apart from some basic information given in preliminary questioning, was unable to further assist in solving the case.

That’s because he could not answer questions he was asked about the shooter’s characteristics and how many people in total were in the vehicle the “gunman” was riding in, only remembering that one person got out of it and started shooting with the aim of killing the 39-year-old, not him. “I wouldn’t recognize him if I saw him,” he appears to have specifically told the officers, wanting to make it clear that he was not withholding any details of the body type and facial features of the man who opened fire on them.

According to information, no other person – for now – emerges as having an active role in the murderous ambush, as there appears to have been no accomplice, at least at the scene. Of course, the witness was unable to say whether the perpetrator exited through the driver or passenger door, so the scenario of other people being involved has not been removed.

The location the perpetrator chose in order to take the 39-year-old’s life could only be described as isolated. In fact, the ambush was set up at the entrance leading to the Macedonia bus station and dozens of vehicles and citizens pass by every minute. Also, it is not characterized as a “blind” spot, since there are many security cameras around and, on top of that, the General Police Directorate of Thessaloniki is located in a short distance and from the junction of Dendropotamos, there are Police vehicles constantly passing by.

So far all the evidence leads to the version of settling scores, with the exact motives remain unknown, but no one can answer why the perpetrator or the perpetrators “struck” at the specific time, at the specific point.

The nine shell casings and the victim

A total of nine shell casings were recovered at the scene of the killing, and the victim appears to have been fatally wounded by two bullets, one to the head and one to the heart.

Meanwhile, both the 39-year-old Turkish man who lost his life and his compatriot who was driving are residents of Athens, specifically that one resides in Argyroupoli and the victim in Piraeus.

The 39-year-old man who died was in the Greek territory as a person who applied for asylum, while his compatriot has a legal residence permit. Both said they were freelancers, while both had previously been in the police’s hands and had been arrested in Thessaloniki for drugs.

Since early Tuesday afternoon, when the bloody incident occurred, police have been on a manhunt to track down the perpetrator or perpetrators of the mafia-style attack. They have already collected CCTV footage from nearby businesses.

It is noted that the driver of the car, after giving his statement to the police, was brought in and detained, as a small amount of drugs, specifically cannabis, was found in his possession.