Saturday, December 20, 2008

Greek protests after shooting of second teen

Thousands of youths demonstrated in central Athens Friday as anger flared in the Greek capital following the shooting of another teenager.
High school students protest in front of their school in the western Athens suburb of Peristeri.

High school students protest in front of their school in the western Athens suburb of Peristeri.


A group of youths targeted the French Institute, a language and cultural institute, and police scrambled to the scene to contain the incident.

The situation began heating up during a protest rally Thursday that followed the bizarre shooting of a high school student in an Athens suburb earlier this week.

The 17-year-old was hit in the hand by an unknown assailant as he was talking to a group of schoolmates in the western suburb of Peristeri. Initial police reports showed the student -- the son of a leading trade unionist -- was hit with a .38-caliber handgun.

Police said no officers were patrolling the region at the time of the incident.

The mysterious shooting has enflamed widespread student anger over the fatal police shooting of a 15-year-old boy December 6, which sparked Greece's worst riots in decades.

Students rallied Friday in response to the shooting of the 17-year-old. One of the rallies was planned for central ; the other in the suburb where the student was shot.

Later in the day, scores of artists are scheduled to gather in central Athens to stage a protest concert in response to the initial shooting of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos.

Daily protests since the December 6 shooting, including riots, have thrown into turmoil and have become a simmering anger about the conservative government's handling of the economy, education, and jobs.

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