PALERMO - Emanuele Burgio, the 26-year-old son of a former mafioso, has been shot and killed in the historic marketplace of Vucciria in Palermo, it is believed by rival drug dealers over territorial conflicts, according to police sources.

  Burgio was shot on Sunday night, just a few metres from his house, on via dei Cassari, the centre of the city’s nightlife. Paramedics soon came and rushed him to hospital, but he died in  the emergency room. 

  Emanuele was the son of Filippo Burgio, considered the treasurer of the mafia family of Palermo Centro during the reign of Gianni Nicchi, and condemned to nine years in prison.

  The police investigations into Emanuele’s murder, led by Rodolfo Ruperti, have so far found no witnesses, though believe the killing to be related to recent clashes over drug-running territory in Palermo. According to investigative sources, Burgio had attempted to stretch his territory from Vucciria into Borgo Vecchio, but his actions had started a mini war between drug dealers in the area, culminating in Sunday night’s shooting.

  Preliminary investigations, based on CCTV footage of the market, have revealed that three people had arrived on scooters in a sort of ambush, though only one shot, hitting him three times.

  The police have sequestered Burgio’s car and are interrogating several people thought to be close to the victim, as well as those who had allegedly clashed with him. 

  On Monday, a crowd of over 200 people gathered in front of the Palermo hospital where he died, in order to see him and pay their respects. The police had to calm the crowd.

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