the riflemen’s blitz after hours of negotiations

The rifleman shoots the commander and barricades himself in the barracks – Photo by Ansa Foto

After all night they tried in vain to negotiate for him to come out, a team of the GIS, the special service of the carabinieri with a unit of assault dogs, burst into the barracks of Asso, in the province of Como, where Brigadier Antonio Milia had barricaded himself after shooting and killing station commander Doriano Furcieri.

Milia also shoots a colleague

Seeing the dog, Milia fired a shot hitting one of the SIG riflemen in the knee. The soldier was not seriously injured and limped out of the barracks and was rescued by the 188 health workers already on site.

Sergeant was arrested

The blitz in the barracks took place around 5:40 a.m., after almost twelve hours of negotiations. Milia was arrested and a female riflewoman who was in a barracks and the families of other soldiers who had never been in danger were released.

Milia had been hospitalized for psychological problems

The brigadier had been on duty for several years in the Como area and had been hospitalized in the psychiatric ward of the Sant’Anna hospital in Como, discharged and recovered for several months. He returned to service a few days after a hospital medical board deemed him fit. He was currently on vacation.

The background

The victim, Commander Doriano Furceri, had been on duty at the Asso Carabinieri post since February, after 17 years at the Bellano post. The transfer was arranged after the lieutenant was the subject of insults and accusations with anonymous writings on the walls of the city, which denounced an alleged love affair with more than one married woman. Another wrote instead, denouncing an irregular work situation concerning his wife.

The provincial command of Lecco had explained that the facts “concerning the commander of the post of Bellano are being examined by the judicial authorities and are also the subject of an independent investigation launched by the carabinieri to establish the contours of the case and also to assess the existence or not of requirements for the permanence of the serviceman in the current position or for a possible transfer elsewhere.” Furceri was later transferred to Asso.