An 89-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of shooting and wounding several people in attacks on government buildings in Athens. The suspect, who reportedly had a history of mental illness and had recently been rejected for a state pension, was detained in the western port city of Patras while allegedly attempting to flee to Italy. His arrest followed a countrywide manhunt.
Details of the Attacks
The attacks unfolded earlier on Tuesday when a gunman walked into a social security office and opened fire with what appeared to be an antiquated shotgun, injuring a female employee in the leg. Shortly after, a second assault occurred at an appeals court, where a man fitting the same description entered a chamber while in session and opened fire, lightly wounding four court officials. The court building was immediately evacuated, but the gunman managed to flee the scene.
Suspect's Background
Greece's state-run TV channel, ERT, reported that a relative had contacted the broadcaster to say that the suspect had a history of mental illness and had been angered by the rejection of an application for a state pension. The attacks are particularly shocking to a nation unused to gun violence.
Security Concerns Raised
Judicial authorities slammed the Greek government for inadequate security measures that enabled the gunman to pass unnoticed into a courthouse. In a statement, the Greek association of judges and prosecutors said the armed attack “demonstrated in the worst possible way the absence of appropriate security measures” in a public building of an EU member state that was used every day. Highlighting the lax measures, Sotiris Tripolitsiotis, the general secretary of the association of court employees of Athens, claimed X-ray machines acquired to boost security in the courthouse remained “unused” seven years after they were bought because of the lack of properly trained staff. “No one coming into the courts can really be checked,” he told the Greek daily Kathimerini. The government, he said, had been urged to step up security because increasingly courts were hearing confiscation and debt cases that were prone to make people “angry and violent”.
Broader Context
Greece endured one of Europe’s worst debt crises until near empty state coffers were rebalanced after nearly a decade of tough austerity. Poorer Greeks on wages and pensions that remain lower than other parts of the EU still struggle to make ends meet at a time of rising living costs.
