Shots italy pm, Two policemen were shot and seriously wounded by a man who opened fire outside the Prime Minister’s office in Rome today.
Police said they had arrested 49-year-old Luigi Preiti who wanted to kill himself after the shooting but ran out of bullets. He fired six shots.
A government spokesman said it was a “tragic criminal gesture by an unemployed man” adding he had been targeting politicians.
The shooting happened as Premier Enrico Letta and his new government were being sworn in half a mile away.
A woman also received injuries thought to have been caused when people fled in panic knocking each other over as the shots rang out.
One of the paramilitary officers was seen on the ground in a pool of blood with a neck injury.
It was not immediately clear if there was any connection between the shooting and the swearing-in, but tensions have been running high following elections in February that left Italy in political turmoil for weeks.
Mr Letta, 46, agreed a coalition deal only a day earlier between his centre-left forces and the conservative bloc of former premier Silvio Berlusconi.
The suspected gunman, dressed in a dark business suit, was immediately grabbed by other police in the square, wrestled to the ground and then taken away. An automatic pistol lay close to him. He was later admitted to hospital and was seen wearing a protective neck brace.
New justice minister Anna Maria Cancellieri said the attack “has the appearance of being carried out by an unbalanced man”.
Relatives said the man arrested had lost his job in a building firm and was upset over marital problems.
New Cabinet members were kept inside for security reasons until it was clear there was no immediate danger.
The new interior minister, Angelino Alfano, went to the Rome hospital to visit the policeman who was wounded in the neck.
Metal fencing surrounds the square in front of the PM’s office but the public can cross by showing identification, although sometimes passers-by cross it without being stopped. It was unclear if the assailant had asked permission to enter the square.
Police said they had arrested 49-year-old Luigi Preiti who wanted to kill himself after the shooting but ran out of bullets. He fired six shots.
A government spokesman said it was a “tragic criminal gesture by an unemployed man” adding he had been targeting politicians.
The shooting happened as Premier Enrico Letta and his new government were being sworn in half a mile away.
A woman also received injuries thought to have been caused when people fled in panic knocking each other over as the shots rang out.
One of the paramilitary officers was seen on the ground in a pool of blood with a neck injury.
It was not immediately clear if there was any connection between the shooting and the swearing-in, but tensions have been running high following elections in February that left Italy in political turmoil for weeks.
Mr Letta, 46, agreed a coalition deal only a day earlier between his centre-left forces and the conservative bloc of former premier Silvio Berlusconi.
The suspected gunman, dressed in a dark business suit, was immediately grabbed by other police in the square, wrestled to the ground and then taken away. An automatic pistol lay close to him. He was later admitted to hospital and was seen wearing a protective neck brace.
New justice minister Anna Maria Cancellieri said the attack “has the appearance of being carried out by an unbalanced man”.
Relatives said the man arrested had lost his job in a building firm and was upset over marital problems.
New Cabinet members were kept inside for security reasons until it was clear there was no immediate danger.
The new interior minister, Angelino Alfano, went to the Rome hospital to visit the policeman who was wounded in the neck.
Metal fencing surrounds the square in front of the PM’s office but the public can cross by showing identification, although sometimes passers-by cross it without being stopped. It was unclear if the assailant had asked permission to enter the square.
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