The influential head of the Greek Church on Tuesday visited the intensive care unit of an Athens children’s hospital for a briefing on the condition of an eight-year-old girl critically injured after being hit in the head by a stray bullet late last month.
The child, Alexia, was hit by bullet fired some 450 meters away while playing in the courtyard of her home in the Viotia prefecture of Thespies. A 54-year-old gas station owner was eventually tracked down by police and reportedly admitted to firing the shot, as part of Easter Sunday celebrations at a residence in an adjacent village.
“We spoke with physicians, and for the first time, a glimmer of hope has appeared. They believe that if this improvement continues, then we’ll have a better course,” Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ieronymos, told reporters afterwards.
The child remains in critical but stable condition at the ICU, remaining in a medically induced coma.
