Two murders occurred in the space of only a few hours in the wider Athens area on Wednesday night and the early hours of Thursday.

The first happened at a cafeteria a little before 11 pm on Wednesday at Omonia square on Kritis street in downtown Athens, when an Albanian was shot dead by a gunman on a motorcycle, while the second one occurred at 2.30 am on Thursday at Moschato when a 48-year-old Greek who was walking was shot at point-blank range in the back of the head.

In the second case, sources say the victim, who was the father of two, worked as a security guard.

Police are investigating both cases and are leaning towards both incidents being linked to gang-related matters.