On the evening of December 6, 2008, two members of the Special Guards of the Hellenic Police confronted a group of youngsters in the Exarcheia neighborhood of Athens. The initial police report claimed that the youths had thrown bottles and rocks at the policemen; eyewitness reports claimed that the policemen had approached the youths and instigated a confrontation.
What we know for sure is that one policeman fired his weapon; 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was fatally wounded by gunfire; and a few hours later, Athens and other cities in Greece were in flames.
I was serving a term of conscription in the Greek army at the time, at a base near Patras in western Greece, and I remember that for several days after, anyone going into town on liberty was warned: don't wear your uniform. Change into civilian clothes. Don't be a target.
I'm restricting my intro to what I know for sure; my opinions, musings, and ramblings are below the orange fiddly bit.
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