Brief
An 89-year-old gunman opened fire in two government buildings in Athens on Tuesday, injuring at least four people in an unusual act of violence that shocked the nation. Authorities arrested the suspect hours later.
Police reported that the man first attacked a social security office, making his way to the fourth floor, where he shot a worker in the leg after warning another to duck. Alexandros Varveris, head of Greece’s National Social Security Fund, described the incident, noting that the gunman did not specifically target the employee he hit.
The injured individual received immediate medical attention, but the shooter managed to escape and later fired again inside a courthouse in a different part of the city, resulting in multiple injuries.
Authorities revealed that at least three court employees, all women, suffered minor injuries from flying debris. A fourth employee was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Surveillance footage showed the suspect walking calmly down the street with what looked like a short shotgun.
The police apprehended the man near Patra, roughly 130 miles from Athens, and recovered the weapon used in the attacks. The motive behind his actions is still unknown, but reports indicate he left behind documents at the courthouse detailing his complaints.
