Police investigate fatal shooting of man on Lykovrysi bridge near Athens

Discovery on the Lykovrysi bridge

Greek law enforcement authorities launched an investigation on the afternoon of Sunday, 13 September 2026, after a man was discovered dead beside a parked car in northern Athens. The incident occurred on the overpass bridge at the Lykovrysi exit of the New Athens-Lamia National Highway, along the roadway heading towards Piraeus. Police departments were notified of the incident at approximately 17:30 after a passing motorist observed the stationary vehicle and spotted an unresponsive individual on the asphalt. Officers were immediately dispatched to the scene, which sits near the municipal boundary between Lykovrysi and Metamorfosi.

Scene inspection and forensic findings

Upon reaching the specified location on the overpass, responding officers located a passenger vehicle parked on the bridge deck. An initial examination of the license plates established that the automobile was registered to a company. Lying directly outside the car on the pavement, police found an unresponsive male estimated to be between 50 and 55 years of age. The individual exhibited no vital signs and was found to have sustained a severe gunshot wound to the head. The injury resulted in visible bleeding from the nose and a large amount of blood covering the surface of the roadway.

Physical examination of the scene revealed that the man was holding a 9mm pistol in his right hand. In addition to the handgun, investigators located a single spent bullet casing on the ground in close proximity to the body and the parked automobile. Ballistics specialists and forensic technicians gathered the cartridge casing and documented the position of the firearm as part of the initial evidence collection process.

Highway closures and perimeter security

In response to the discovery, substantial police forces were deployed to secure the surrounding area and establish a wide investigative perimeter. Traffic authorities implemented an emergency closure on the Lykovrysi bridge, halting vehicular transit in both traffic directions. The complete suspension of movement across the overpass affected traffic connecting the Metamorfosi and Lykovrysi districts and prevented vehicles from utilizing the exit ramp off the New Athens-Lamia National Highway. The roadway remained closed while investigators mapped the position of the company vehicle and conducted an exhaustive search of the surrounding asphalt.

Investigation and preliminary determinations

Initial assessments conducted by Hellenic Police investigators suggest that the fatal shooting was an act of suicide. The presence of the 9mm handgun in the victim's right hand and the adjacent spent cartridge casing formed the basis for these early conclusions. However, police officials clarified that no investigative hypothesis has been ruled out at this stage of the inquiry. Law enforcement authorities are continuing their examination of the vehicle's corporate ownership, the origin of the weapon, and the sequence of events leading up to the fatal incident on the bridge.