A hearse is seen on the road where Greek journalist Giorgos Karaivaz was fatally shot in the Alimos suburb on Friday. Reuters

A veteran Greek crime journalist was shot dead outside his home in Athens on Friday, a police source said, in a rare crime targeting a member of the media.

Giorgos Karaivaz, who worked for private TV station Star and also ran news blog bloko.gr, was shot several times, the police source said.

Reports said the journalist had been shot by two men on a motorbike.

Government spokeswoman Aristotelia Peloni said the murder "shocked us all."

"Authorities are already investigating in order to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice," she said.

Police said Karaivaz was shot early on Friday afternoon by two individuals on a motorbike who fired multiple rounds near his home in Alimos, in the south of Athens. Twelve bullet casings were collected from the scene, a police official said.

While Greek media offices are frequently targeted in firebomb and vandalism attacks, journalist killings are generally rare in Greece.

In July, tabloid owner Stefanos Chios survived after being shot in the neck and chest by a hooded man outside his home. The case is still under investigation.

In 2010, radio manager, blogger and investigative journalist Socratis Giolias was also gunned down outside his home.

At the time, state TV NET said he had been working on a story about corruption.

A shadowy far-left group claimed responsibility for the crime but the case was never solved.

Agencies