An 89-year-old man arrested over two shootings in Athens has confessed he intended to carry out a further attack at the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg, authorities say.
The suspect allegedly opened fire with a shotgun at a branch of EFKA, wounding an employee in the leg, before travelling by taxi to a courthouse where he fired additional shots, lightly injuring four female court clerks.
He appeared before a public prosecutor on Wednesday and is due to testify before an investigating magistrate on Thursday.
In his confession, the man said he had scouted both locations days earlier to assess security, noting he was able to enter without being searched or asked for identification on the day of the attacks.
He told investigators he did not intend to kill anyone but wanted to send a “message” over a dispute concerning his Greek pension, claiming he deliberately aimed at victims’ legs.
After the shootings, he travelled towards an intercity bus station before arranging transport to Patra, where he planned to catch a ferry to Italy and continue to Strasbourg to target employees who had sent him a letter he interpreted as mocking him.
Police arrested him at a hotel in Patra after he encountered problems withdrawing cash from an ATM. He also claimed he had purchased the weapon years earlier.
His lawyer, Vassilis Noulezas, said the incident was “an act of protest and despair” against Greek public services.
He added the man had worked for 40 years as an engineer in Chicago, had previously been hospitalised in a psychiatric clinic in Athens, and had been angered after his application for a supplementary pension was rejected.
A public prosecutor has charged the man with attempted murder and illegal possession of a gun.
