Tragedy came close yesterday afternoon in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, where a violent brawl broke out inside a reception facility. The timely intervention of the police officers of the Public Security Police Department, led by Deputy Commissioner Carmelo Alioto, prevented the situation from degenerating further: the toll is that five non-EU citizens were arrested in flagrante delicto.
Money and cell phone gone: the spark of the raid
The alarm in the operations room went off around 5.15pm. The officers who arrived on site found dozens of guests involved in a furious fight. According to initial investigative reconstructions, the dispute exploded following mutual accusations of the disappearance of a sum of money and a mobile phone. In a few minutes, tempers heated up, transforming the discussion into a real manhunt.
Bloody sticks and a fan were seized
During the riots, objects intended to offend were used: the Police in fact found and seized four sticks (two wooden and two aluminium), some of which were still stained with blood. Among the moments of greatest tension was the throwing of a fan into the street, which created a serious danger for passers-by and public safety.
Two of the injured participants were accompanied by 118 health workers to the local emergency room, where they were treated for injuries judged to heal in 5 days; a third man instead refused help.
Having been handcuffed on charges of aggravated brawling (art. 588, paragraph 2, of the Penal Code), the five perpetrators were taken to the police station offices. The Deputy Prosecutor on duty, Dora Esposito, has ordered the measure of house arrest for everyone directly within the same shelter – due to the temporary unavailability of places in the penitentiary institutions of the area – awaiting the trial with a very direct trial set for today at the Court of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. Meanwhile, investigators continue to work to identify any other participants in the raid.