MARMOTA-- On Monday police were searching for Igor Vaclavic, allegedly responsible for a series of thefts and the murders of a barman, Davide Fabbri, and of a provincial police officer. The Serb national was stopped by two guards, but shot and killed one before escaping, setting off a huge manhunt.

 The two officers randomly stopped the fugitive for a spot check in Portamaggiore in the Ferrara countryside. He was quick to react, shooting the two guards at point-blank range, killing one and seriously injuring the other. There was nothing to be done for the older of the two, 70-year-old Valerio Verri, but the younger, Marco Ravaglia, miraculously survived, managing to raise the alarm in both Bologna and Ferrara.

 A huge manhunt then began. Vaclavic was headed for Bologna with a white Florin in tow, stolen in Molinella. After travelling for a dozen kilometres, however, he was intercepted by the carabinieri. He then got out of his car and escaped into the forested and swampy area of Marmorta in Molinella. They sealed off the area- the carabinieri scoured the forest, a difficult task given that it was already dark.

 Vaclavic had become the bête noir in that corner of Emilia Romagna after he allegedly murdered the barista, Davide Fabbri in Budrio on April 1. The police have been searching for him ever since, but it was completely by chance that the officers stopped him. The public minister of Ferrara, Ciro Alberto Savino explained that “the two guards seized the Florin with a spot check, they weren’t aiming to capture the Russian.”

 The investigators confirm that there has been “no arrest” as of yet- the killer is still on the loose.  First reports described him as a Russian but police subsequently said the bandit is a Serb.

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