Gunman Wounds Four in Shootings at Athens Social Security Office and Courthouse

He went to the fourth floor of the National Social Security Fund offices, known by its Greek acronym EFKA, raised the shotgun hidden under a trenchcoat, told an employee to duck, and fired, hitting another employee in the leg with shrapnel wounds, according to Alexandros Varveris, head of EFKA. Varveris added that the gunman did not specifically target the employee he hit.

Police officers arrived at the social security office scene, applied a tourniquet to the wounded employee's leg, and treated him before he was transported to a hospital. Security camera footage from a local store near the office showed a man walking across the street carrying a short-barreled shotgun in his right hand, local media reported.

The same man was suspected of opening fire on the ground floor of a court building in central Athens shortly after, police said. He shot at the floor inside one of the offices, wounding at least three female court employees slightly with ricocheting shotgun pellets, according to Stratis Dounias, head of the Athens Judicial Employees Union.

A fourth female employee was transported to a hospital without physical injuries, media reports said.

Ambulance crews transported at least three people from the courthouse to waiting ambulances. The gunman left envelopes with documents after the shooting at the courthouse, state broadcaster ERT reported. Authorities found the shotgun at the court building after the gunman fled.

Police in Athens were searching for the gunman, with a police operation underway to locate him. Local media described the gunman as a scrap collector born in 1937. Eyewitnesses described the gunman as tall and thin, wearing a blue trenchcoat.

Eyewitnesses alleged that the gunman had previously been a patient in a psychiatric facility. Gun ownership in Greece is limited to those going hunting and high-risk personal protection. Applicants to own a gun in Greece must receive a thorough inspection, including a psychological evaluation, and provide a valid reason for owning the weapon.