Greek prison guard runs amok - One dead

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Less than a three days after the dramatic escape of two prisoners by helicopter from Athens' maximum security Korydallos jail the Greek prison service has found itself embroiled in another scandal in the island of Crete after a prison guard was arrested for the ambush and murder of a driver two kilometres outside the village of Sougia.

According to early unconfirmed reports the victim stopped his vehicle after seeing a man acting suspiciously in fields nearby and was shot and killed. The gunman then shot at another car another passing by, injuring the man seriously in the head and back who managed to reach the local village and raise the alarm. A taxi also came under fire but the driver was able to escape without injury.

Local police later arrested the 23 year old who works as a prison guard in the Cretan city of Hania. According to police reports the man  who confessed his actions seems to be suffering from psychological problems.

The case comes in the wake of a similar shooting outside the residence of the US ambassador to Greece just two weeks ago when a policeman shot and seriously wounded a security guard leaving the amabassador's home. It turned out that the officer in charge had been undergoing psychiatric treatment however, three requests by the American embassy to have him reassigned had been ignored by the Greek police.

The prison break on Sunday has also claimed its first victims leading to resignations and arrests of those responsible for security at Korydallos.