Shoplifter dies during attempted robbery in Sicily
PALERMO - The attempted robbery of a minimarket in the heart of Palermo ended with one man dead and two injured as a fight between shop owner and shop lifter broke out in broad daylight.
The robber, a 35-year-old man, was caught entering the shop by CCTV cameras at around 15:00, seemingly drunk. Soon after entering, he was confronted by the shop's owner and a companion of his. The latter two can be seen to stand firm against the attempted robbery and this led to a fight between the three men breaking out.
The men moved out of the CCTV camera's vision, but later reappeared with the robber in a headlock between the legs of one of the defenders.
When the police arrived on the scene they found a stick covered in blood, and some shards on glass on the floor. It is consequently believed that the shop lifter may have been killed by a blow from either object.
However, the lack of any wounds or clear signs of violence on the corpse has left open the possibility that the man died as a result of a heart attack suffered during the struggle rather than as a direct result of physical violence.
The case now hinges on the findings of the autopsy which is currently underway.
Abdul Martin and Kabir Humayun, the shop’s owner and a friend respectively, have both been arrested on suspicion of murder and are under interrogation as investigators try to piece together the events that led to the man's death.
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