Armed robbery suspect escapes from police custody in West Attica

A manhunt was under way on Tuesday for an escaped suspect accused of shooting at police during a post office hold up.

The 27-year-old suspect, an Albanian national, is one of two suspects in the robbery who managed to break out of a holding cell in the police precinct of Menidi, west of Athens. The second man was stopped by police as the pair fled the premises.

The 27-year-old is considered dangerous, as he was part of a group of three men who held up a post office in the Attica village of Vilia at gunpoint on November 27. The suspects also exchanged gunfire with police who thwarted the robbery, with one being injured in the incident.

The two fugitives were arrested on December 3 and held at the Menidi jail, from which they escaped at 4.20 a.m. in the early hours of Tuesday.