Chief suspect in Piraeus bar shooting arrested

A 31-year-old Albanian man believed to be behind at least four shootings in Athens that resulted in one death was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday, the Greek Police has said.

He has been identified Arber or Albert Bako, born in Albania in 1983.

The police was able to trace Bako on the basis of CCTV footage and witness testimony that emerged after the latest attack, in the Mikrolimano neighborhood of Piraeus on Saturday, where he allegedly opened fire with a Kalashnikov assault rifle against the patrons of a bar, injuring 15 people.

According to reports, the authorities had been looking for the 31-year-old since he violated the terms of his release from prison, where he served time for a string of robberies, after he failed to report to his local precinct on November 1.

Bako is suspected of having conducted at least three more armed assaults in the Greek capital. Shortly after his release in August, he is believed to have fired a gun into the air at a bar on Michalakopoulou Street after getting into an argument with patrons. He is also suspected of firing at a cafe in the central Athenian district of Aghios Panteleimonas on the night of October 6. Neither of these attacks resulted in casualties.

A drive-by shooting at a bar on the border between the neighborhoods of Vathis Square and Metaxourgeio on October 31, however, resulted in the death of a 44-year-old man. Investigators put the 31-year-old behind the attack after finding that an abandoned car believed to be the vehicle used, had been leased by the suspect.

Investigators eventually located Bako at an apartment in the Athenian neighborhood of Goudi on Wednesday after tracing his mobile phone. Another 23-year-old Albanian national, who appeared be renting the apartment, has also been arrested as an accessory.

Bako is due to appear before a prosecutor on Thursday.