The weapon used for the drive-by shooting against the PASOK headquarters on Monday night was identified as the one used in armed assaults against the party in 2014 and 2017, the Greek police announced on Tuesday.

Following ballistics examinations police confirmed the Kalashnikov, which was used by a group called “Revolutionary Self-defence” on three occasions in the past -two against PASOK and one against the Mexican Embassy in 2016- was the same machine gun used on Monday night’s attack at Charilaou Trikoupi street in downtown Athens outside the party’s offices.

The police statement said that the group had assumed responsibility for the first two attacks against PASOK in June 2014 and July 2016, confirming initial suspicions by the anti-terrorist unit that Monday’s attack was indeed carried out by the said group. The same organisation had fired at the Mexican embassy on January 31, 2016, and one year ago on the eve of Barack Obama’s visit to Athens, they launched a grenade against the French embassy guard opposite the Greek parliament, injuring him slightly in the foot.
Police investigations are focusing on a tall, slim man in 30s, who according to eyewitness accounts, shot the weapon while accompanied by another individual. According to sources, he is the group’s “shooter”. There are four other people supporting him and they all frequent the Exarchia district in Athens, a hotbed for anarchist and extreme left movements, which is a no-go zone area for police.

According to sources, they are in their mid 40’s and have had fall ins with the law in the past. Police say that the only way to prevent a new attack would be to employ massive scale raids in the area to “cleanse it”.