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Greek Police Arrest 89-Year-Old Man After Shootings in Athens Wound at Least Four
An 89-year-old man was arrested in connection with shootings at a social security office and a courthouse in central Athens that injured at least four people. The suspect allegedly fired a shotgun, wounding one employee at the social security office before targeting the courthouse. Police detained him near Patra after a manhunt.
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Greek police arrested an 89-year-old man suspected of carrying out shootings at a social security office and a courthouse in central Athens on April 28, 2026, wounding at least four people. The incidents began at the National Social Security Fund office in the Kerameikos district, where the man opened fire with a shotgun, injuring one employee in the leg.
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The suspect then traveled to a courthouse in the Ambelokipi area, where he fired again, injuring three more people with ricocheting pellets. Police reported that the man left envelopes with documents at the courthouse, stating they explained his actions. Authorities recovered a shotgun at the courthouse and found a second weapon during the arrest.
The suspect was apprehended in a hotel near Patra, about 210 kilometers west of Athens, following a large-scale manhunt. Local media identified him as a former rubbish collector from the Athens area with a history of treatment at a mental hospital in 2018.
The motive remains unclear, and police have not released further details on the documents left behind. " — Alexandros Varveris, head of the National Social Security Fund, April 28, 2026 (ERT radio).
The injured at the social security office received on-site treatment from police, including a tourniquet applied to the leg wound, before hospital transport. At the courthouse, three female court employees sustained slight wounds from shotgun pellets, and a fourth was hospitalized without physical injuries.
Athens court staff announced a 24-hour strike on April 29, 2026, citing inadequate security at court buildings. " — Stratis Dounias, head of the Athens Judicial Employees Union, April 28, 2026 (news reports).
