Gunman, 89, shoots several people in Athens as police launch urgent manhunt

Susanna Siddell
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:46:17 +0000

A gunman has shot several people in Athens with police launching an urgent manhunt into the incident.

The shooter, reportedly an 89-year-old, opened fire in two different locations across the Greek capital, injuring four people in the process.

The first shooting took place outside a social security office in the central Athens district of Kerameikos at around 10am local time.

The second attack occurred at one of the city's court complexes, Greek authorities confirmed.

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At the first scene, one of those injured was one of the building's employees, who received shrapnel wounds to his legs.

Head of the National Social Security Fund (Efka) Alexandros Varveris said the shooter went to the building's fourth floor.

There, Mr Varveris said the man yelled at an employee to "duck" before he took aim at another office worker.

The injured employee was taken to a hospital after emergency workers treated him at the scene.

"He went in, went up to the fourth floor, raised his shotgun, told an employee to duck and hit another one," Mr Varveris recounted to ERT radio.

He added that it did not appear as if the gunman had specifically targeted the employee, saying the gun was initially concealed by the shooter's trenchcoat.

Then, five kilometres away, the same shooter is suspected of opening fire on the ground floor of the city's court buildings, outside the Court of First Instance.

The second incident led to three more people being injured.

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Police have since confirmed that authorities had found the shotgun after the suspect dropped the weapon and fled the scene.

Ambulance crews could be seen carrying three people from the courthouse to the emergency vehicles, footage from state broadcaster ERT News showed.

ERT added that the suspect threw envelopes containing documents to the floor after the shooting, while the motive behind the attack remains unknown.

The gunman, who remains at large, has since been described by local media as a scrap collector, someone who scavenges for objects to sell on, born in 1937.

Eyewitnesses have described the suspect as tall and thin, wearing a blue trenchcoat.

They alleged that the man had previously been a patient in a psychiatric facility.

Greece is home to some of Europe's strictest gun laws, with gun ownership limited to only those going hunting and high-risk personal protection.

Those applying to own a gun must receive a thorough inspection, including a psychological evaluation, and provide a valid reason for owning the weapon.