Village locked down after deadly vendetta — police fearing revenge attacks
The quiet mountain village of Vorizia, in Heraklion, Crete, has turned into what locals describe as a “no man’s land” after a brutal vendetta between two families left two people dead and several injured. Armed police have sealed off the area amid growing fears of revenge attacks that could reignite the blood feud.
Dozens of heavily armed officers from the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (EKAM) and riot police have surrounded the village, guarding homes and strategic locations. Authorities have reportedly relocated several family members involved in the feud to undisclosed areas of Crete to prevent further violence.
The fatal gun battle, which erupted on Saturday morning, followed a suspected dynamite attack the previous night on an under-construction house belonging to one of the families. That incident allegedly triggered the revenge assault that led to the bloodshed. Witnesses say more than 2,000 bullets were fired as gunmen armed with Kalashnikov rifles and shotguns exchanged fire in the village’s main square.
The victims include a 39-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman who had travelled from Chania to attend a memorial service for her father. Four people remain hospitalised, including two men aged 23 and 31, and two women aged 26 and 52, all reportedly out of immediate danger.
Police have sealed off the crime scene, collecting ballistic evidence and interviewing witnesses. The investigation is being coordinated by the Chief of the Hellenic Police, Dimitris Malios, who convened an emergency meeting at Heraklion Police Headquarters late on Saturday night. Also present were top-ranking officers and forensic experts, including Fotis Ntouitsis, head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
A task force has been established in Heraklion to identify all perpetrators and uncover the root causes of the feud, which local authorities say has haunted the region for years. “We must break the code of silence,” one senior police official said, acknowledging the deep social wounds that vendettas continue to inflict on Crete’s rural communities.
Eyewitness accounts reveal the chaos and terror that unfolded. One man from Athens, who happened to drive through the area, described the scene: “I suddenly saw a 4×4 firing in all directions. My car was hit several times — I escaped death by inches.” He immediately alerted the police before managing to flee the area.
Authorities remain on high alert, with police patrols stationed around Vorizia overnight and into the coming days to prevent any retaliatory actions. For now, the village remains under a tight security cordon — its residents trapped in fear, waiting for peace to return to a land once again scarred by blood.
