Police Seize Guns, Ammo Near Embassy

Police seized dozens of submachine guns and boxes of ammunition from homes around the U.S. Embassy on Thursday to put an end to gunfire that hit several cars in the diplomatic compound overnight.

A U.S. diplomat said Marines traced the origin of some of the gunfire and worked with Albanian police to stage the raids. None of the Marines returned fire, but were prepared to respond if necessary, the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

In the rest of the country, the lawlessness that began in February - when shady investment schemes collapsed and took most Albanians’ life savings with them - continued to grow.

A woman and her 15-year-old son were killed in Fier, 30 miles south of Tirana, after they refused to pay protection money. In Gjirokastra, near the Greek border, rebels stormed the Greek consulate seeking entry visas.

And even in Tirana, the most secure city in Albania, a man with a submachine gun opened fire Thursday on another man in the downtown area. He missed, and fled when police appeared.