Vendetta killings in Crete reignite fears of blood feud violence
Residents now fear what may happen once the police leave
The killing of two people in a long-running vendetta between families on the Greek island of Crete has shocked the country, fuelling fears of further bloodshed as the government stays silent.
Though rare today, blood feuds have been part of Cretan culture since at least the antiquity, and have claimed more than 150 lives since the 50s.
Rooted in old disputes – often over land or perceived family insults – they can spiral into cycles of revenge, each side seeking to avenge the other in a relentless cycle of violence. Such conflicts typically end only when a neutral mediator brings the families together, but locals fear this time more killings are inevitable, as a relative of one of the families involved told Ant1 TV on Tuesday.
According to them, family members that live in other cities were called back to fight.
“I can’t imagine what will follow”, they said, explaining that there are informal rules here that one should not break.
More than 2,000 bullets fired
The latest incident occurred on 1 November in Vorizia – some 50 kilometres south of Heraklion, the island’s capital – when a gunfight left a 30-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman dead. Both belonged to rival families locked in a feud spanning decades. Two others remain hospitalised under police guard.
According to police sources, the attackers opened fire with Kalashnikov rifles, pistols, and hunting guns, discharging more than 2,000 bullets “indiscriminately and in a state of amok,” as one officer told local media last Sunday. The dispute reportedly centres on the ownership of a house in the village.
Three brothers believed to be the main suspects surrendered to police on Tuesday afternoon after hiding in the nearby mountains for three days.
Special police units have sealed off the area, seized weapons, raided homes, and closed local schools. Around 400 officers are currently stationed in the 500-resident village, with drones even hovering above the church on Tuesday during the funeral of one of the victims.
Deafening silence
Residents now fear what may happen once the police leave. Greek media have criticised the government’s inaction, questioning how firearms remain so widespread despite strict gun laws in the country. According to Greek law, the authorities can only approve gun possession for reasons other than hunting when there is a “genuine risk to personal security”.
Minister of Citizen Protection Michalis Chrisochoidis stated on Tuesday that Crete needs a “change of perceptions” and pledged to enforce stricter gun laws.
However, so far, prominent Greek politicians from Crete have remained silent: neither Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis nor the main opposition leader, socialist Nikos Androulakis, has made any public comment on the incident.
(cs)
