The injury of a six-year-old during an attempted murder in Oroklini over the weekend has ignited fears there may be heavy payback.

“It is still not clear to what extent the suspect or suspects may have realised the six-year-old child was in the back seat of the car. These was a large number of bullets fired at the people in the car,” police spokesman Christos Andreou said on Monday.

At around 5.30am on Sunday, a car driven by a 39-year-old man with a 42-year-old man as a passenger and a six-year-old behind the driver, came under gunfire from an unknown person.

The 42-year-old and six-year-old sustained injuries to the stomach and legs and underwent surgery at Larnaca general hospital. Both are out of any immediate danger to their health, Andreou said.

Nonetheless, sources revealed the injury of the child goes against the unwritten rules of the gang wars: not harming children or women.

“This is a very serious case and we are trying to obtain evidence,” Andreou added. A military rifle was found 400m close to the scene, as well as a hood and gloves. Forensic ballistics are being carried out to confirm if that was the weapon used in the attack.

Officers are trying to find any DNA traces from the scene to try and narrow down the search.

“The main aspect of our investigation is the motive behind the attempt. At the moment, this has not been clarified but certain information may lead investigators to that direction.”

AlphaNews reported CCTV footage showed a man fleeing the scene with someone waiting to pick them up with a car nearby.

There are also questions on whether the 42-year-old was indeed the target or an attempt to frighten someone else through the attack.