Pension Dispute Leads to Violence: The Story Behind the Athens Shootings

The fishy was feeling aggrieved and ignored by the Greek authorities implicit his pension. Public Domain

The 89-year-old antheral who terrorized Athens Tuesday morning, by shooting astatine people, was arrested and is expected to beryllium led to a authoritative connected Wednesday.

The attacks astatine the EFKA offices successful Kerameikos and the erstwhile Athens Justice of the Peace tribunal connected Loukareos Street resulted successful injuries to the legs of 1 antheral astatine the archetypal determination and 4 women astatine the second. All victims are presently hospitalized astatine the Red Cross Hospital and are retired of danger.

The perpetrator was apprehended astatine a edifice successful Patras, arsenic helium was preparing to committee a vessel to Italy.

The perpetrator’s movements person raised important questions regarding constabulary response. Despite carrying retired 2 bloody attacks and being recorded by galore information cameras, helium managed to question undetected to Patras utilizing 3 antithetic taxis, moving astir freely for hours earlier his eventual arrest.

What were the motives down the shooting spree successful Athens?

According to a missive written by the perpetrator, 89-year-old Panagiotis K., his actions were the effect of a long-standing, deep-seated resentment toward the Greek bureaucratic and ineligible system.

Panagiotis K. spent the bulk of his big beingness abroad—eight years moving and studying successful Germany, followed by 40 years successful the United States.

Upon his instrumentality to Greece, helium became embroiled successful a quality regarding his pension status. While helium continued to person pensions from some Germany and the United States, helium sought an further “successive” pension from the Greek societal information authorization (EFKA).

Both EFKA and the applicable Greek courts officially rejected his request, ruling that helium did not conscionable the ineligible requirements for the further pension. He was, however, inactive receiving a monthly pension of astir €360 arsenic an OGA (Agricultural Insurance Organization) beneficiary. He claimed his U.S. pension unsocial amounted to $2,400 per month.

Feeling aggrieved and ignored by the Greek state, Panagiotis K. developed a “vengeful” mindset. He viewed the institutions helium attacked (EFKA and the courthouse) arsenic the architects of his perceived injustice.

His actions were not a abrupt impulse. He had reportedly been issuing threats repeatedly successful the caller past, openly informing that helium would instrumentality convulsive enactment if his demands were not met. His prime of targets and his efforts to fly the state aft the attacks suggest that this was a long-planned effort to enact idiosyncratic vengeance against the authorities institutions helium blamed for his situation.