89-year-old shooter wounds several in Athens attack

An 89-year-old man opened fire at a social security office and a courthouse in central Athens on Tuesday, wounding several people before fleeing the scene, according to Greek authorities. Police launched an operation to locate the shooter, who was armed with a shotgun. The suspect first entered the social security fund's offices in the Kerameikos area, went to the fourth floor, and shot an employee in the leg after telling another employee to "duck," said Alexandros Varveris, head of the National Social Security Fund (EFKA). The same man was later suspected of opening fire on the ground floor of a court building elsewhere in central Athens, where multiple people were wounded. Authorities found the shotgun used in the attacks, and footage from state broadcaster ERT showed ambulance crews transporting at least three people from the courthouse to waiting vehicles. The motive behind the shootings remained unclear, though ERT reported that the gunman had thrown envelopes containing documents onto the floor at the courthouse, claiming they explained his actions. The wounded employee from the social security office was transported to a hospital after police applied a tourniquet to his leg at the scene. Police treated the man at the social security office before the shooter escaped. Gun violence is relatively rare in Greece, where firearm ownership is allowed but tightly regulated. The incident occurred on a Tuesday in the Greek capital, and authorities continued their search for the suspect as of the latest reports.