NAPLES – Francesco Pio Maimone, 19, was shot dead in Naples after being caught in the crossfire of a row that erupted when someone stepped on the gunman’s foot, judicial officials said. 

 At about 2.20 a.m. on Monday morning an altercation erupted on the Neapolitan seafront after someone stepped on someone else’s foot. Tempers flared, a gun was pulled out and two shots were fired, one of which hit Francesco Pio Maimone in the chest. The young man was quickly taken to hospital by his friends, but the doctors could do nothing to save him.

 An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the Naples Mobile Squad, led by Alfredo Fabbrocini and under the coordination of assistant prosecutor Sergio Amato. 

 The police have been listening to witnesses and scrolling through CCTV footage to identify the perpetrators of this absurd story, the latest in a series of violent crimes reported in the Neapolitan coastal district. 

 This increase in violent crime has prompted a response from politicians. “Mergellina is a no man’s land, they are shooting madly at people,” commented the Green Party deputy Francesco Emilio Borrelli, who has once again called for “a response from the state.”

 According to the deputy, “we need to quickly understand what is happening: it is certainly not the first time that Mergellina has become the scene of contention between rival clans and criminal gangs fighting over territory.”

 Borrelli is referring to the event, thought to be linked to the Camorra criminal gang, which took place on March 12 when, once again, a young man was wounded after being shot several times whilst in his car. He suffered very serious injuries to his abdomen and cervical area. He survived but is now in danger of being permanently confined to a wheelchair.

 A delegation from Europa Verde, consisting of MEP Borelli and councillor of the first Naples municipality Lorenzo Pascucci, visited the scene of the tragedy and released a joint statement: “Mergellina has now become a meeting place for young delinquents, too many of whom are children of Camorra and underworld families. A ‘high impact’ operation is needed to restore order and security to this area that has also been devastated by incivility.”

cw