ROME - Italy was in shock Thursday after a Carabiniere paramilitary police officer shot and killed his two daughters after shooting and wounding his wife and then killed himself in the latest in a rash of attacks on women and girls that has rocked the peninsula in recent years.

 Luigi Capasso shot his wife, Antonietta Gargiulo, three times after ambushing her in her garage in the early hours of Wednesday morning. She was rushed to hospital but remains in critical condition.

 Capasso then stole the keys to the house and held his daughters’ hostage. Some of his colleagues had been at the scene, attempting to negotiate with Capasso to spare his children, but to no avail.

 Before shooting his daughters, Capasso posted this disturbing message on Facebook: “Never say to me it will not happen, that I would never do it, because life can be unpredictable and nobody is immune from certain things.”

 At the scene, the colonel Gabriele Vitagliano said "The person is locked in the house and is talking to the negotiators. We are trying to arrive at the best possible outcome." However, the atmosphere was not one of hope, with the Colonel describing Capasso’s behaviour as “extremely agitated” and adding “we fear for the worst.”

 Capasso’s reputation had been tainted somewhat before the recent event, having been disciplined and suspended for insurance fraud.

 He had also previously shown violent tendencies, having attacked his wife in front of his office, and in their home, in front of the children. Following the incidents, Gargiulo had attempted to cut all ties with Capasso, a decision supported by her lawyer, Mari Belli. The clear pattern of Capasso's violent and erratic behaviour supports Belli's previous observation that the daughters "were terrified of their father." 

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