A harrowing morning unfolded in Athens on Tuesday when an 89-year-old man entered a social security office (EFKA) in the Keramikos neighborhood and opened fire with a shotgun. Employees described scenes of terror. “Everything happened in a flash — I saw the shotgun pass above a colleague’s head,” one worker, identified only as Katerina, told Orange Press Agency. Staff scrambled for cover as the gunman fired what witnesses said were targeted shots, not warning blasts into the air.
The attack has triggered a wider reckoning about security at public buildings. Investigative reporting by Ethnos revealed exclusive photographs showing that X-ray machines and turnstiles at the Athens Court of First Instance — considered one of the most security-sensitive sites in the capital — have been abandoned and left unused. The revelation raises uncomfortable questions: if even a courthouse’s security infrastructure sits idle, what hope is there for ordinary government offices? [3][39]
Meanwhile, in London, police detained a man after two people were stabbed in Golders Green, a neighborhood with a significant Jewish community. Authorities have not yet confirmed a motive, but the incident has rattled residents already on edge amid ongoing tensions linked to the Middle East conflict. [23]
