Gunman wounds four at Athens social security office, courthouse

A gunman opened fire at a social security office and a nearby courthouse in central Athens on Tuesday, wounding four people before fleeing the scene, Greek authorities said. Police launched an immediate manhunt for the suspect, described by local media as an 89-year-old man.

The attacks began at the National Social Security Fund office, known as EFKA, in the Kerameikos district. The gunman, armed with a shotgun concealed under a trenchcoat, entered the building and went to the fourth floor. There, he raised the weapon, yelled at one employee to duck, and fired, striking another office worker in the leg with shrapnel, according to Alexandros Varveris, head of EFKA. "He went in, went up to the fourth floor, raised his shotgun, told an employee to duck and hit another one," Varveris told state broadcaster ERT radio. He added that the shooting did not appear targeted at the injured employee. Police officers at the scene applied a tourniquet and treated the man before he was taken to a hospital.

About five kilometers away, the same suspect is believed to have opened fire on the ground floor of the Court of First Instance, injuring three more people. Ambulance crews transported the...