Today marks nine years since 11-year-old Mario lost his life to a stray bullet in Menidi, while he was in the schoolyard taking part in a school celebration. It was June 2017 when a moment of joy and carefree happiness turned, within seconds, into a tragedy that shook all of Greece. The young student collapsed after being shot in the head and passed away at the hospital just a few hours later. Nearly a decade on, the pain for his family remains unbearable. “From the bottom of my heart, I pray that no one else ever goes through what we are going through,” his father told tanea.gr.
The investigation that followed revealed that the gunshots had come from a nearby settlement, where a celebration was underway. At least two bullets had been fired that evening, with one landing in the schoolyard and violently claiming the life of 11-year-old Mario.
Following the boy’s death, his family found itself facing a long legal battle, still searching today for justice over the loss of their child. Two Roma men, identified by authorities as those responsible for the reckless gunfire that led to Mario’s death, are standing trial before the Mixed Jury Court. The first defendant faces a charge of homicide with indirect intent, and the second faces a charge of attempted homicide with indirect intent.
“We don’t know whether justice will be served in court. We are waiting for the verdict, because witnesses disappointed us — they retracted their statements and are now saying different things. We are furious, to be honest,” said Mr. Thanasis Souloukos, adding that “this circle will never close for us. We try every day to keep ourselves standing.”
Nine years after the tragedy, the death of 11-year-old Mario continues to serve as the starkest possible reminder of the consequences of reckless gunfire, a phenomenon that has not disappeared from neighborhoods in western and northwestern Attica, such as Menidi, Zefyri, and Aspropyrgos.
“Not much has changed in Menidi — these incidents keep happening. But we haven’t sat back with our arms crossed; we keep up our fight. The issue of illegal firearms, gun possession, and celebratory gunfire is something that worries us to this day. Some people refuse to come to their senses and have no awareness of what their actions can lead to. They don’t care what might happen or whether someone could get hurt or lose their life. For nine years we have been living through very difficult circumstances, but we try not to give up because we still have another child, and we don’t want to let them down.”
