Greek authorities are piecing together the puzzle behind the deadly bombing that rocked Thessaloniki on the morning of Saturday, May 3, claiming the life of a 38-year-old woman. Investigators are focusing on identifying both the mastermind and the bomb maker behind the attack, while also exploring the possibility of a second hideout.
A specialized unit from the Hellenic Police’s Criminal Investigations Division has already conducted a meticulous search of a downtown Thessaloniki apartment believed to have served as a bomb-making site. The goal: to uncover the network behind the fatal explosion.
According to a police spokesperson, the victim had a criminal history involving common felonies, which led authorities to assign the case to the Organized Crime Unit. “It is clear that the target was the bank,” the spokesperson told Mega TV.
Investigators are still working to determine whether the woman planned to commit a robbery or if another motive led her to place the device at the bank. Her decision to stay at the scene has raised suspicions that she may have been waiting for an event—potentially an explosion—to gain access to the bank or its ATM.
Note in Pocket Leads Police to Bomb Factory
The turning point in the investigation came when police found a note in the woman’s pocket with the address of the apartment. It had been rented just days earlier, on Wednesday, April 30, via a mobile app by a man already known to authorities.
Inside the apartment, investigators discovered a cache of high-powered explosives—approximately one kilogram of PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) and a small amount of TNT. They also found eight detonators and a length of slow-burning fuse, indicating that the bomb was assembled on-site. Materials found at the scene suggest there were sufficient components to build at least one more explosive device.
Authorities have identified the man who rented the apartment—a familiar figure to Greek police—and are now actively searching for him.
Meanwhile, efforts are underway to locate the individual who actually constructed the explosive, as investigators have ruled out the possibility that the deceased woman had the technical expertise to do so.
