A 31-year-old man was arrested yesterday afternoon on suspicion of seriously injuring three people in Athens after shooting at them from his SUV in apparently random and motiveless attacks.

Two men and one woman were injured in the shootings last week, since when small teams of policemen have been deployed on 24-hour patrols in three neighborhoods close to the center of Athens in a bid to catch the suspect.

Police were also manning roadblocks in the areas of Kolonos, Metaxourgeio and Kypseli. It was at one of these roadblocks that police yesterday stopped an olive-colored SUV and found 9mm bullet casings inside. Officers said that initial forensic tests indicated the casings were from the bullets that had struck the three victims.

The 31-year-old, who denies shooting anyone, was not named although police said that he is a cab driver. He is due to face a prosecutor today.