UC Berkeley professor shot dead by gunman in Greece

UC Berkeley professor shot dead by gunman in Greece

Police in Greece are searching for the killer of a University of California, Berkeley professor who was shot to death in Athens on July 4 while visiting his children and attending a custody hearing.

Details about the incident

Przemyslaw Jeziorski, 43, was an economist and professor of marketing at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. He was hit several times at close range in a residential area in the Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi and died at the scene, authorities reported.

A masked gunman "approached the victim on foot and opened fire at approximately 4:15 p.m.," hitting Jeziorski in the neck and chest, police spokeswoman Konstantina Dimoglidou said. Seven casings from a 9mm firearm were found at the scene.

Investigations and suspects

A murder investigation is underway. With the suspect still at large more than a week after the incident, Jeziorski's friends and family are calling on police to step up their efforts. The incident took place near Jeziorski's ex-wife's home, a day after he attended a custody hearing.

A senior police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case, told CNN that "all scenarios, including close family members, are being investigated." However, there were no further details on the subject.

The police spokesman said that the murder showed “signs of a contract killing” and that links to organized crime were also being investigated. The police also stated that Jeziorski had no previous convictions in Greece.

Eyewitnesses reported a masked man in black approaching the victim on foot. A witness told local media that she heard about six shots and saw the perpetrator running away from the scene.

Family life and its effects

Jeziorski's family is raising money to repatriate his remains to his native Poland and to obtain legal support in Greece "to take legal action and support the ongoing investigation."

“Our family is devastated and we are doing everything we can to ensure justice is served,” his brother Łukasz Jeziorski wrote on the online fundraiser.

Appreciation and legacy

UC Berkeley said in a statement that Jeziorski had "a passion for teaching" and trained more than 1,500 master's and doctoral students in data analysis during his 13 years on the faculty. Friends and colleagues described him as “a wonderful person, friend and colleague” who was “extraordinarily talented and hard-working.”

“I am deeply saddened by the tragic and sudden news of the death of Professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski, a valued member of our marketing faculty and the Haas community,” Jenny Chatman, dean of UC Berkeley’s business school, said in the statement. "As authorities investigate what happened, our focus is on providing support to our community during this difficult period. My condolences go out to Przemek's family and loved ones. We will miss him."

The highly acclaimed economist developed a popular MBA course in marketing analysis and "became a leading expert on quantitative marketing strategies, industrial organization and the economics of digital markets," according to the University of Berkeley.

His research into livelihood security entrepreneurs and financial inclusion has taken him around the world, with one colleague describing him as “actually adventurous”.

“He was a loving father of two young children and always ready to help when someone needed support,” Berkeley professor Zsolt Katona said in the statement. “He had a great impact on the marketing field, not only through his research, but also through his energetic presence and optimism, coupled with a healthy amount of skepticism.”

Before joining Berkeley, Jeziorski worked as an assistant professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University and as a visiting scholar at Microsoft. He received his doctorate in economic analysis from Stanford University and earned master's degrees from the University of Arizona and the Warsaw School of Economics in Poland.

Jeziorski has been published in several prestigious academic journals, including the American Economic Journal and the RAND Journal of Economics. He also co-founded a start-up called Keybee, a platform for managing short-term rental properties.