A man arrested on Monday following an armed robbery on the Western Union branch of the Syngrou-Fix metro station in central Athens was out on furlough from Alikarnassos Prison, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old had been serving a 12-year-and-three-month sentence for a string of robberies at the jail in Iraklio, Crete, and was out on furlough when he and an accomplice, who is still at large, staged an armed hold-up of the money transfer office.

Two people were injured during the robbery after the 37-year-old fired his gun into the air to frighten the Western Union clerk and his bullet ricocheted, hitting a 70-year-old pensioner and a young Bangladeshi national.

Police apprehended the suspect after he was hit by a car while trying to escape from the scene. His accomplice, who is believed to have been driving a getaway motorcycle, managed to elude arrest.

Authorities have been in the process of reviewing the terms of prison leave after a multiple murderer breached his furlough terms in August from Larissa Prison.