1 dead, 4 wounded in Italy supermarket stabbing spree
(REUTERS) — Police in central Italy killed a man and arrested another as his gang of knife wielding assailants went on a deadly spree at a supermarket in the city of Bologna early on Sunday morning.
Five people were injured in the incident in Bologna, the capital of Emilia Romagna region, which lies near the border with Tuscany. Another man was shot in the hand after a gunfight with police in a nearby town, according to Italian media.
The gang of five carried out the attack on a store before going on a two-hour spree of violence around the centre of the city which left a total of five people injured.
One of the victims, a man in his 30s, died at the scene and another two were airlifted by ambulance to the local hospital.
The man’s identity was not released by police.
The attacks came days to the anniversary of the death of Italian terrorist-killer Giuseppe Berlinguer, whose assault on the US embassy in Rome in 1981 left 85 people dead.
According to Italian media, the attackers were seen fleeing the scene in a white Fiat 500 on Monday morning, but were quickly arrested.
“They’ve left the scene in a car with the plate VIAA (VIA – Italy’s number one) after they’ve been taken in by police. We don’t know how many of them are in custody,” police union chief Stefano Foschini was quoted by ANSA news agency as saying.
The police suspect that one of the attackers was involved in the supermarket killings.
“Police believe it was an inside job and we still don’t have a motive,” said Italian news agency Ilta uercise. “We know the culprits who carried out the attack have been identified… the weapons and vehicles used were left at the scene,” ANSA said.