Man in critical condition after fighting off burglars

A 52-year-old man was in critical condition last night after challenging a pair of violent burglars who broke into his home in the leafy northern Athenian suburb of Kifissia while his family were asleep in their beds.

The businessman, identified as Alexandros Stamatiadis, was beaten with an iron rod and shot when he attacked one of the two robbers who accidentally roused the 52-year-old after they crept into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife on the second floor of the two-story home.

Doctors at Athens’s Georgios Gennimatas Hospital performed at least two surgeries and put the 52-year-old on life support as a result of multiple injuries to the head and several organs.

The man’s wife, son and housekeeper were unharmed but were unable to speak to investigators due to shock.

Police said the family had moved into the maisonette recently and had not got around to installing a burglar alarm.