Athens somewhat calm Thursday

ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Athens was relatively calm Thursday after days of rioting following the police shooting of a teenager, but protests spread to other cities in Europe.

A major demonstration was being planned for Athens Friday, as any people went to work for the first time this week, CNN reported.

"Of course there are sporadic clashes between students and police officials, but things are a scale or two lower than they were yesterday," police spokesman Panayiotes Stathis said Thursday. "There is a gradual de-escalation and that's how we hope the situation will proceed."

Alexis Grigoropoulos, 15, was killed Saturday night. A police officer who has been charged with manslaughter claimed during a court hearing that he acted in self-defense and that the bullet that struck Grigoropoulos was a ricochet after he fired warning shots in the air, Katherimini reported.

A lawyer for the officer claimed Grigoropoulos had been expelled from a private school but school officials say that is not the case.

Demonstrators gathered Thursday outside Greek embassies in Denmark, Italy, Spain and Turkey. In Copenhagen, police arrested 32 people, while protesters in Rome and Moscow allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at the embassies, The Times of London said.