(AFP) A gunman has been arrested after he shot dead three people at the Palace of Justice in the Italian city of Milan.
A fourth person was found dead at the court, from an apparent heart attack.
The suspect, Claudio Giardiello, was reportedly a defendant in a bankruptcy case. He was arrested in a Milan suburb after fleeing the scene on a motorbike.
The dead are said to include his former lawyer and a bankruptcy court judge. The shooting has prompted scrutiny of security procedures at the courthouse.
Questions are being asked about how Mr Giardiello managed to smuggle a weapon into a well-guarded building, use it several times and escape.
The suspect was arrested by carabinieri officers in Vimercate, about 25km (15 miles) north-east of central Milan, near the town of Monza.
Mr Giardiello, seen here in a picture released by police, was arrested on the outskirts of Milan
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said the “presumed assassin” was now being held at a military police barracks in the Milan area.
The sound of gunfire had sparked panic inside the Palace of Justice on Wednesday morning.
Hundreds of people poured down stairways towards the exits while police and military police officers searched for the gunman.
“All of a sudden we heard at least three or four shots,” lawyer Marcello Ilia told the AFP news agency outside the building.
Women were first to be evacuated by police from the Palace of Justice
“We tried to find out what was going on. There were suddenly lots of police officers who told us not to leave the room, they shut us in,” he said.
“After a few minutes we came out. They told us someone in a suit and tie was armed and at large in the court.”
Citing officials and witnesses, the newspaper La Repubblica reported that the gunman had been attending a bankruptcy hearing when a fight broke out inside the third floor courtroom.
He pulled out a weapon and shot the lawyer, named as Lorenzo Alberto Claris Appiani, as well as another man, who is said to have been a co-defendant in the case.
According to La Repubblica, Mr Appiani was a former lawyer for Mr Giardiello who was acting as a witness in the case.
Police searched the building for the gunman but he managed to escape
The gunman then left the courtroom and headed to the office of appeals court judge, Fernando Ciampi, shooting him dead.
It is not known if the gunman had any links to the judge.
A fourth person was found dead inside the building after apparently suffering a heart attack.
Another two people were wounded and are being treated at a hospital.
After hiding inside the Palace of Justice for more than an hour, the gunman fled on a motorbike, according to La Repubblica.
Mr Giardiello was described as “aggressive” and “a little paranoid” by his former lawyer, Valerio Maraniello, in comments quoted by AFP news agency.
No comments:
Post a Comment