Police are investigating the circumstances and possible motive behind a murder-suicide in Nea Smyrni, a southern suburb of Athens, where a 48-year-old man ambushed and fatally shot a 45-year-old woman before turning the gun on himself.
The two were found dead Sunday morning at the entrance of an apartment building on Grigoriou Kydonion Street, where the woman’s daughter lived. Both had suffered gunshot wounds from a revolver.
According to information available to authorities, the 48-year-old, who was of Albanian descent, had been waiting for the woman, who was also of Albanian descent. When she arrived at the building, he shot her and then used the same weapon to kill himself.
Police recovered the gun from the scene.
Security footage under investigation
Security camera footage from the apartment building is considered an important part of the investigation. It reportedly shows the 48-year-old waiting for the woman outside the building.
According to footage examined by authorities, the man emerged from a car when he saw the woman approach. The two then had an intense argument before he shot her with the revolver.
The woman’s 16-year-old daughter was inside the building at the time and heard the gunshots.
The initial forensic examination at the scene was completed at around 10 a.m., after which the two bodies were removed.
Man’s social media posts examined
Authorities are also examining the 48-year-old’s social media activity.
He reportedly posted photographs of himself posing while holding guns, while other images showed him practicing martial arts. Investigators have not established whether the weapon shown in the photographs was the same gun recovered from the crime scene.
Authorities are examining the man’s background and recent movements, as well as his relationship with the victim, in an effort to establish what led to the shooting.
Initial reports differed over whether the two had been married. Later information indicated that the 48-year-old was married and had a child.
Both the man and the victim were reportedly of Albanian origin.
Authorities examine victim’s past relationship
Police are also looking into an incident from 2024, when the woman reportedly told authorities that a former partner had taken her motorcycle after their breakup and failed to return it.
There is currently no indication that the former partner was the 48-year-old involved in Sunday’s shooting, but the incident is being examined as part of the investigation.
The victim’s daughter, with whom she had been living recently, is expected to provide important information to investigators.
Neighbor heard three gunshots
A resident of the area described the moments of panic following the shooting.
“I heard three very loud noises,” the resident told Orange Press Agency. “They weren’t back-to-back. There was an interval of three, four, five seconds, one after another.”
The resident said the sound was initially difficult to identify as gunfire.
“After a while, we heard the police car siren. I felt like something had fallen from very high up,” the resident said, explaining that the incident took place on a parallel street separated by apartment buildings.
The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the killing and the relationship between the two continues.
