TIMELINE: Riots erupt after Greek Police shoots boy dead

(Reuters) - Riots erupted across Greece during the weekend after police shot dead a teenager in the capital late on Saturday.

The following is a brief chronology of the incident and the subsequent street violence, the worst to hit Greece in years:

Dec 6

- A police officer shoots dead a 15-year-old boy in central Athens. The policeman says he fired warning shots but eyewitnesses say the officer aimed at the boy after a verbal altercation with a group of youths in the volatile Exarchia district.

- Hours after the shooting, thousands protest in Athens, throwing petrol bombs, smashing shop windows and setting fire to garbage containers. Police clash with rioters and use large amounts of teargas, choking the capital's center.

- Riots spread across Greece, to the northern cities of Thessaloniki, Komotini and Ioannina as well as the tourist resorts of Crete and Corfu. Police arrest six people for looting smashed shops and one individual is held for gun possession.

- Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos makes a public apology and later submits his resignation, which is rejected by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

- Riots sweep across the country throughout the night and two police officers are arrested and questioned over the youngster's death.

Dec 7

- Thousands of demonstrators chanting "Killers in Uniform" march for a second day in Athens, Thessaloniki, Crete, Patras, Corfu and Ioannina.

- Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis sends a letter to the dead teenager' family, expressing his sorrow and promising the culprits will be punished. Pavlopoulos appeals for calm.

- One police officer is charged with murder and another with abetting him.

- Protesters in Athens and Thessaloniki clash with police and hurl fire bombs along the cities' main streets setting shops, buildings and cars alight.

- More than 34 people are injured during the skirmishes and police detains about 20 people in Athens, where glass, debris and charred cars lie strewn across streets choked with tear gas.

- The Athens mayor postpones the launch of Christmas festivities.

Dec 8

- Demonstrators launch a third day of protests and occupy university buildings. Dozens of marches bring Athens to a standstill as shop owners consider the damage.

- Hundreds battle with police in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.

- Protests spread outside Greece, when 15 demonstrators occupy the Greek consulate in Berlin in solidarity. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Matthew jones)