ROME -- An unidentified gunman fired three shots at Rome’s ‘Gay Village’ nightclub, after a fight broke out towards the end of the night. No-one was wounded in the incident, but it is nonetheless a “serious” one according to organisers. 

 Police went off in pursuit of the man, but were unable to catch him up as he rode away on a scooter.

 “We tried our best to stop the biker, but we couldn’t,” a witness working at the festival told 'Il Messaggero'.

 "When we heard the shots, we ran into the road," the man continued, "but he was on a motorbike and we were on foot. We pursued him and when we managed to get into the car he’d already disappeared."

 “I was in the car park of the Gay Village. There were quite a few of us, we were just getting in our cars and getting ready to go away. All of sudden, we saw a man through the wire-netting around the event and at the same time heard the three shots.”

 “He was aiming at head height, we all screamed and tried to find shelter behind our cars. When he stopped firing, we went off after him, but he’d already disappeared.”

 “We saw the pistol on the ground. We don’t know if the gunman threw it on the ground or whether he just dropped it. Either way, the gun is now in the hands of the police.”

 The gunman’s reasons for firing remain unclear, but the witness thinks the incident has something to do with a fight that happened a couple of hours before. 

 “There was a punch-up between two groups, and then security came and threw one group out. Another group stayed inside for a bit longer."  

 An investigation has since been started. Although the two men remain unidentified, officials will hope to find sufficient evidence from CCTV footage and cartridges found on the ground.

 "We ask mayor Virginia Raggi to dedicate her full attention to what has happened in our district," said Imma Battaglia, a prominent activist in the LGBT movement.

 "Right now, we feel highly in danger, and we worry for the safety of our workers."

lej