A 34-year-old businessman arrested in connection with the Oroklini shooting on 4 December was released after police found no evidence of wrongdoing.
The businessman was implicated in the attempted murder by a male 31-year-old suspected shooter.
In his confession to the police, the shooter claimed the 34-year-old hired him and another man to carry out a contract killing of a 42-year-old man in Oroklini.
The incident occurred on Sunday, 4 December, at around 5.30 am when gunshots were fired at the two men and a six-year-old boy in Oroklini.
The older passenger and the child were taken to the hospital, where they underwent surgery.
The 42-year-old suffered gunshots to the legs and stomach, while the six-year-old was injured in the right leg. Both are out of danger.
The suspected shooter has reportedly admitted to committing the attack after evidence tied him to the scene.
Apart from the businessman, he named 35-year-old Andreas Christou his accomplice in the crime. Police are still looking for Christou.
Reportedly, the shooter said he had gone to the businessman’s house in Ayia Napa with Christou to receive €40,000 payment for the hit a day after the incident.
The shooter claims that the businessman had only paid half of the money agreed for the contract.
However, the 34-year-old had an alibi for the time and day the shooter claimed to have gone to his home.
The businessman’s lawyer said that he had been at a betting shop in Sotira, Famagusta, which several people confirmed.
The suspected shooter, according to reports, told police where he had disposed of the clothes he had worn on the day of the shooting.
Remains of the clothes were found in a well near the scene, where he had thrown them after setting fire to them.
The alleged shooter is faced with charges of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm, and illegally possessing weapons and explosives, while his DNA was linked to a face mask found near the scene.
Police launched a search for the shooter’s alleged accomplice, Andreas Christou, who was reported missing by his sister on 7 December, three days after the shooting.
Media said that Christou’s sister confirmed that her brother confided that he had been plotting the hit in Oroklini with the businessman from Ayia Napa.
Christou left his mobile phone with his sister, which she handed to the authorities.
