Police hunt 89-year-old gunman after several wounded in Athens shooting

A manhunt has been launched for an 89-year-old man accused of opening fire on people in government buildings with a shotgun in central Athens, wounding at least four people.

The attacker opened fire at a social security agency in Petralona this morning before travelling to a nearby courthouse and injuring several more people, police said.

An employee of the agency wounded during the rampage was hospitalised after being treated at the scene by police as the suspect made his escape.

At least three female court employees were slightly wounded by ricocheting shotgun pellets at the courthouse, while media reports said a fourth employee was taken to hospital without physical injuries.

Television footage showed ambulance crews transporting at least three people from the courthouse to waiting ambulances.

A motive for the attack remained unclear as police established a heavy presence at the scene. State broadcaster ERT reported that the gunman had reportedly left envelopes with documents at the courthouse after the shooting, claiming the motive was linked.

The outlet identified the suspect as an 89-year-old, saying he disappeared after abandoning his firearm in a photocopier. Authorities later found the gun, police said.

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 trenchcoat 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 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.