John
04-10-2009, 07:26 PM
The 19-year-old man arrived at the vocational training college in Athens at 8.45am, 15 minutes before lessons were due to start, carrying two handguns and a knife.
He walked into the courtyard and blasted an 18-year-old student four times, leaving him with wounds in the chest, arms and legs, before fleeing outside.
Two workers at a nearby shop tried to stop him, but he shot them - one in the leg and the other in the arm.
He then went to a park close to the school, put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.
Police identified the gunman as an immigrant from the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia.
"He left a note saying he couldn't take it any more," said a police spokesman.
The internet warning was later discovered on a social networking site.
"It seems his motive was revenge. He may have believed (the 18-year-old victim) was most strongly involved in the activities against him."
The 18-year-old is in a serious condition while the other two victims are also being treated for their injuries.
The shooting comes amid a recent surge of bloody bank robberies, murders, muggings and violent burglaries in Greece.
Only last week unknown gunmen shot and injured two policemen who stopped them for a routine check in Athens.
In addition to the increase in crime, police have had to deal with a surge in political violence by anarchist and far-left groups, who often carry out arson attacks.
These increased drastically after last December's fatal police shooting of an Athens teenager, which sparked the country's worst riots in decades.
He walked into the courtyard and blasted an 18-year-old student four times, leaving him with wounds in the chest, arms and legs, before fleeing outside.
Two workers at a nearby shop tried to stop him, but he shot them - one in the leg and the other in the arm.
He then went to a park close to the school, put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.
Police identified the gunman as an immigrant from the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia.
"He left a note saying he couldn't take it any more," said a police spokesman.
The internet warning was later discovered on a social networking site.
"It seems his motive was revenge. He may have believed (the 18-year-old victim) was most strongly involved in the activities against him."
The 18-year-old is in a serious condition while the other two victims are also being treated for their injuries.
The shooting comes amid a recent surge of bloody bank robberies, murders, muggings and violent burglaries in Greece.
Only last week unknown gunmen shot and injured two policemen who stopped them for a routine check in Athens.
In addition to the increase in crime, police have had to deal with a surge in political violence by anarchist and far-left groups, who often carry out arson attacks.
These increased drastically after last December's fatal police shooting of an Athens teenager, which sparked the country's worst riots in decades.