Police hunt for 89-year-old suspect after gunman opens fire in Athens wounding several people

A gunman has opened fire at two locations in central Athens, wounding several people, Greek authorities say.

Police are searching for the suspect, said to be an 89-year-old man, according to local media.

The attacker was armed with a shotgun and initially opened fire at a social security office in the centre of the Greek capital, wounding an employee.

The injured man suffered shrapnel wounds to his legs and was taken for treatment. His life was not in danger according to initial assessments, local media reported.

Alexandros Varveris, head of the National Social Security Fund, said that 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, Mr Varveris said.

"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 it didn't appear that the gunman specifically targeted the employee he hit.

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The same man was suspected of later opening fire on the ground floor of a court building in Athens, with several people wounded there, police said.

The motive was unclear, but the gunman had reportedly thrown envelopes with documents onto the floor after opening fire at the courthouse, saying those were the reasons for his actions.

The head of the Athens Judicial Employees Union, Stratis Dounias, said that initial information indicated the man shot at the floor inside one of the offices in the court building.

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

Witnesses described him as tall and thin, and wearing a blue trench coat under which he was hiding his gun.

Footage from state broadcaster ERT News showed ambulance crews transporting at least three people from the courthouse to waiting ambulances.

The wounded employee was taken to a nearby hospital after police applied a tourniquet to his leg at the scene.

(c) Sky News 2026: Police hunt for 89-year-old suspect after gunman opens fire in Athens wounding several people