A guy opened fire at a cafe in Rome, killing three women and wounding four others, one of whom was a friend of Italy’s incoming prime minister.
The adjoining block’s residents’ committee was meeting inside.
Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, called the shooting a “terrible episode of violence” and said he would be at a Monday emergency meeting.
In detention is a 57-year-old suspect. He has reportedly had issues with several members of the committee’s board in the past.
According to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the committee’s vice-president, Luciana Ciorba, was at the café in the Fidene neighborhood.
She stated that as the shooter entered the bar on Sunday, he yelled, “I’ll kill you all,” before drawing his gun. But, according to reports, he was overcome by neighborhood residents before being arrested by authorities.
One of the injured, thought to be two women and two men, is still in critical condition.
The prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, named Nicoletta Golisano as one of the victims. The other two women that passed away went by the names of Sabina Sperandio and Elisabetta Silenzi.
In a Facebook post, Ms. Meloni expressed her sympathy to Ms. Golisano’s family, saying she would never forget her friend as “beautiful and happy.”
A “protective mother, a real friend who kept to herself, a lady strong and fragile at the same time” was how she defined Nicoletta.
Nicoletta was a professional with a strong sense of duty, yet she was also my friend.
“Nicoletta looked bright and joyous in the crimson costume she purchased for her 50th birthday celebration a few weeks ago. She will always be attractive to me and happy,” she said. “It’s not proper to die like that.”
According to Ms. Meloni, a shooting range from which the suspect is thought to have stolen the weapon used in the attack has been closed and is the focus of an investigation.
The police have not yet provided an explanation for the suspect, whose identity was revealed to the public by the Italian press but not by them. However, it is believed that the attack was not political.
There have been rumors of a protracted disagreement between the suspect and the apartment building’s board of residents.
Giorgia Meloni, the leader of Italy’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, was chosen as the country’s first female prime minister in October.