ATHENS, Greece — Greek police launched a manhunt Tuesday after an elderly shooter attacked two government buildings in downtown Athens, injuring multiple victims with a shotgun. Media reports identified the suspect as an 89-year-old man.
The violence began at a social security office in central Athens, where authorities say the armed suspect shot and wounded a worker. Emergency responders provided medical care to the victim before the shooter escaped the scene.
The same individual later targeted a courthouse in a different area of downtown Athens, where additional people were injured, according to police. Officers recovered the shotgun used in both incidents.
Video from Greece’s state television network ERT captured paramedics loading at least three victims from the courthouse into ambulances for transport to area hospitals.
Authorities have not determined what motivated the attacks. ERT reported that the gunman scattered envelopes containing documents across the courthouse floor following the second shooting, suggesting they explained his reasons for the violence.
Alexandros Varveris, who leads the National Social Security Fund (EFKA), described how the attacker entered the Kerameikos district office and climbed to the fourth floor before opening fire. The gunman concealed his weapon beneath a trench coat and warned one worker to take cover before shooting another employee 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 explained during an ERT radio interview. The official noted that the shooter did not appear to deliberately target the specific employee he wounded.
Medical personnel transported the injured worker to a hospital after police applied emergency first aid, including a tourniquet, at the scene.
Such violent incidents remain uncommon in Greece, where citizens may own firearms but face strict government regulations.
