89-year-old man arrested for allegedly wounding at least 4 people with a
shotgun in Greek capital
[April 29, 2026]
By ELENA BECATOROS
ATHENS, Greece (AP) Police in Greece on Tuesday arrested an
89-year-old man who allegedly opened fire with a shotgun in a social
security office and a courthouse in central Athens, wounding at least
four people.
Law enforcement authorities said the suspect was arrested near the city
of Patra, some 210 kilometers (130 miles) west of the Greek capital.
The gunman initially opened fire at the social security office, wounding
an employee, police said. Police officers who arrived at the scene
treated the man, but the gunman fled the scene.
Local media aired security camera footage that it said was from a local
store near the social security office, which showed a man walking calmly
across the street carrying what appears to be a short-barreled shotgun
in his right hand.
The same man was suspected of later opening fire on the ground floor of
a court building in another part of central Athens, with several people
wounded there, police said, adding that authorities had found the
shotgun.
Television footage showed ambulance crews transporting at least three
people from the courthouse to waiting ambulances.
The head of the Athens Judicial Employees Union, Stratis Dounias, said
that initial information indicated that the man had shot at the floor
inside one of the offices in the court building. At least three female
court employees were slightly wounded by ricocheting shotgun pellets,
while media reports said that a fourth female employee was transported
to a hospital without physical injuries.
[to top of second column]
|
People gather outside a courthouse after a gunman opened fire
leaving several people wounded in Athens, Tuesday, April 28, 2026.
(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
The motive for the shooting was unclear. State broadcaster ERT said
that the gunman had reportedly left envelopes with documents after
the shooting at the courthouse, saying those were the reasons for
his actions.
Alexandros Varveris, head of the National Social Security Fund known
by its Greek acronym EFKA, said the gunman had gone to the fourth
floor of the social security fund's offices in the Kerameikos area
of central Athens and opened fire after calling out to an employee
to duck. His shot hit another employee, who was wounded in the leg,
Varveris said, adding that the gunman had been wearing a trench coat
under which he had hidden the shotgun.
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.
He said the gunman didn't appear to specifically target the employee
he hit.
The wounded employee was transported to a hospital, after police
applied a tourniquet to his leg at the scene.
Gun violence is relatively rare in Greece, where firearm ownership
is allowed but tightly regulated.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
