A gunman opened fire at a social security office and a courthouse in central Athens on Tuesday, injuring several people, according to Greek authorities. Police launched a manhunt for the suspect, who local media identified as an 89-year-old man. Officials said the attacker, armed with a shotgun, first targeted a social security office in the city centre, where he wounded an employee before fleeing the scene. Police officers who arrived provided immediate medical assistance to the victim.
The same suspect is believed to have later opened fire on the ground floor of a courthouse in another part of central Athens, leaving several more people injured. Authorities later recovered the weapon used in the attack.
Footage aired by state broadcaster ERT showed ambulances rushing at least three injured people from the courthouse to hospitals.
The motive remains unclear. However, reports said the gunman threw envelopes containing documents onto the courthouse floor, claiming they explained his actions. While authorities have not confirmed any terror link, the coordinated nature of the shootings at two separate locations has raised early questions about a possible terror angle. Investigators are examining the suspect’s background, the documents he reportedly left behind, and any potential ideological motive.
Alexandros Varveris, head of Greece’s National Social Security Fund (EFKA), said the attacker had gone up to the fourth floor of the building in the Kerameikos area and opened fire after warning an employee to duck. The shot instead struck another staff member in the leg.
“He went in, went up to the fourth floor, raised his shotgun, told an employee to duck and hit another one,” Varveris told ERT radio, adding that the victim did not appear to have been specifically targeted.
The injured employee was taken to hospital after police applied a tourniquet at the scene.
Gun violence is relatively rare in Greece, where firearm ownership is tightly regulated.
Megha Rawat is an Assistant News Editor at Times Now, where she drives the national news narrative with sharp political reporting, election coverage a...View More
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