An officer in Thessaloniki, Greece has been suspended from duty and arrested after shooting a 16-year-old boy of Roma ethnicity in the head over allegedly fleeing from a petrol station without paying.

About 1,500 people took part in a protest march organized by left-wing and anarchist groups in central Thessaloniki on Monday (December 5) night, according to reports.

Molotov cocktails were hurled at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades, according to officials.

Police detained six people after the end of the march.

Violent protests have broken out in Greece’s second-largest city over the police shooting of a Romany teenager after he allegedly filled his vehicle at a fuel station and drove off without paying, on Monday 5/12. The 16-year-old Roma boy, who is being treated in critical condition at a hospital in Thessaloniki, was allegedly shot by one officer in the head. The officer who allegedly shot him in the head was arrested and suspended from duty.

About 1,500 people took part in a protest march for the shooting, organized by leftwing and anarchist groups in central Thessaloniki on Monday night. Some smashed shops and threw molotov cocktails at police, who responded with teargas and stun grenades. The march ended without any arrests or injuries reported.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Romany men have set up barricades blocking a main road outside the hospital where the boy was being treated and set fire to bins. Police had used stun grenades and teargas earlier to disperse protesters throwing bottles at them outside the hospital.