ROME -- A 52-year-old man was shot dead in a piazza in Arzana, Sardinia, Carabinieri have said on Wednesday. 

  Vincenzo Beniamino Marongiu, 52, was shot in Piazza Roma at around 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning in Arzana in the Nuoro province of Sardinia. Marongiu, a previous offender, was under special surveillance at the time of his death. 

  Carabinieri from Arzana and Lanusei arrived at the scene to begin their investigations. The first reconstructions of the event suggest that Marongiu had exited a bar on Piazza Roma, where he had bought a takeaway coffee, and noticed two armed men outside. The victim had attempted to flee, before the two men had opened fire. 

  Public Prosecutor Valentina Vitolo, and Coroner Roberto Demontis both attended the crime scene. The victim’s body was taken to the mortuary at the Nostra Signora della Mercede hospital in Lanusei, where a post-mortem examination is scheduled to be carried out by Demontis.

  The Carabinieri’s surveillance was reportedly carried out due to the victim’s criminal record. Marongiu had been convicted of marijuana cultivation, trafficking arms and explosives, property offences, illegal excavations, and the sale of archaeological finds. During a search of the victim’s home, investigators found a Beretta pistol with a filed-down serial number as well as a Weihrauch HW 977 4.5-caliber rifle.

lw