89-Year-Old Man Held After Five Wounded in Greece Shooting

An 89-year-old man has been arrested in Greece after a series of shootings in Athens left five people injured, police say. Authorities say the suspect first opened fire on Tuesday at a social security office in the Kerameikos district of the Greek capital, wounding an employee in the leg.

Get today's headlines by email

He then travelled about 5km (3.1 miles) to a courthouse in the Ambelokipi area, where four more people were reportedly hurt before the gunman fled the scene.

Police later arrested the man in the port city of Patras, roughly 200km from Athens. Officers say he was carrying a second weapon, a loaded .38 calibre revolver, at the time of his arrest.

Officials say the motive for the attacks remains unclear.

Two locations targeted

The first shooting took place at a social security agency in Kerameikos, where police say the suspect fired a shotgun and injured one employee.

After leaving the building, the man is believed to have travelled across the city to the Ambelokipi district. There, at a courthouse, he allegedly carried out a second shooting that left four people wounded.

Local media reported that the suspect had entered both buildings with a shotgun concealed under his coat.

Greek authorities deployed a large police presence at both sites following the incidents as investigators worked to piece together how the suspect moved between the two locations.

Footage and witness accounts

State broadcaster ERT aired surveillance footage showing a man believed to be the suspect calmly walking away from one of the buildings on foot.

Investigators are examining whether he used a taxi to travel from the first scene to the courthouse.

One eyewitness described the moment shots were fired.

“I saw the whole thing... he was firing at the ground,” the witness told the state news agency AMNA.

The head of the judiciary employees’ union in Athens, Stratis Dounias, said four women working at the small claims court were injured.

“Four women working at the small claims court were slightly injured,” he told a broadcaster.

Authorities say the victims — one man and four women — all suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Arrest in Patras

Police said the suspect was tracked to Patras, a port city about 200km west of Athens.

He was arrested at a hotel near the city’s bus station.

According to reports from state broadcaster ERT, the suspect’s niece alerted authorities after recognising him as the individual involved in the shootings.

When officers detained him, they discovered he was carrying a second firearm, described as a loaded .38 calibre revolver.

Rare incident of gun violence

Gun violence is relatively uncommon in Greece. Firearm ownership is legal but tightly regulated under national laws governing possession and licensing.

Authorities say investigations into the circumstances of the attacks and the suspect’s possible motives are continuing.

Join the discussion?

Already a member?

Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 29 April 2026