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An 89-year-old man carried out two separate shootings in central Athens on Tuesday morning, wounding at least four people.
The first opening fire at a social security agency office in the Kerameikos district, then traveling approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) by taxi to the Athens Court of Appeal on Loukareos Street, where he shot three more people, before abandoning his shotgun and fleeing as a major police manhunt was underway.
At approximately 10:30 a.m., the suspect entered an EFKA social security services building in Kerameikos armed with a hunting rifle and opened fire, shooting one employee in the leg. Staff and visitors were thrown into panic.
The suspect fled the scene before police arrived, triggering an immediate manhunt.
Despite the active manhunt, the suspect reportedly hailed a taxi and traveled to Loukareos Street near the Athens court complex, where he opened fire again on the ground floor of the Athens Court of Appeal.
Four people were injured in total from the second attack, transported to the Red Cross hospital with superficial pellet wounds to the lower extremities, with their condition described as good.
The court was evacuated via a public address announcement. Police subsequently located and recovered the suspect's hunting weapon at the scene.
Three ambulances and two National Emergency Center (EKAV) motorcycle units responded.
Authorities were investigating how the suspect managed to travel between the two locations and carry out a second attack while an active police operation was underway.
No motive was immediately established.
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