They were released after arrests of the president of the shooting club and the head instructor, while the prosecutor ordered a preliminary investigation to determine whether all required procedures were followed when issuing the temporary athlete’s permit and during the 43-year-old woman’s use of the firearm.
The investigation is now focused on the authenticity of the signature of the 43-year-old on the temporary Athletic Status Card (DAI) valid for 48 hours, which was issued for her participation at the shooting range. For this reason, a handwriting analysis has been ordered to determine whether the signature actually belongs to her.
Meanwhile, the authorities are examining the woman’s cell phone, searching for conversations, messages, or other digital evidence that could explain what led up to her decision.
According to reports, the 43-year-old had traveled to Crete about two weeks ago for a vacation and, as reported, had traveled there to meet a friend from her past. That person reportedly left the island on Saturday, a few hours before the tragic incident, a fact that is being examined as part of the preliminary investigation.
The woman, who was originally from Thessaloniki, visited the shooting range on Saturday morning asking to train as a new athlete.
The president’s account of what happened
In his preliminary statement, the president of the shooting club maintains that all required procedures were followed. As he states, a temporary Athletic Status Card was issued, her information was recorded in the required logs, and she was provided with the necessary protective equipment.
Subsequently, according to his statement, he briefed the 43-year-old woman on safety rules and the use of the firearm, and handed her a small-caliber 0.22 Glock 44, which is used for training purposes.
“The deceased appeared completely normal and gave me no cause for concern whatsoever throughout our interaction. We entered the range, jointly identified the single shooting station, and began the procedure. I was literally on top of her the entire time, and throughout our interaction, I didn’t notice her having any problems, concerns, anxiety, etc.”
As he describes, the 43-year-old had already fired 30 to 50 rounds when she asked him to step back a few paces, because she felt that his constant supervision was putting pressure on her and believed she could now continue on her own.
“This move of mine proved fatal in allowing her to carry out her (obviously premeditated) incredible, in every way undesirable, globally unprecedented, and therefore unpredictable and inevitable plan, by very quickly placing the gun under her chin and committing suicide. Nothing like this has ever happened in the history of shooting sports. At that moment, I was shocked; I literally lost my footing, I was screaming, shouting for help…”.
The 43-year-old was transported to critical condition at Venizelio Hospital, where doctors attempted to save her, but she succumbed to her injuries during surgery.
