Slaying of thief fuels Italy’s debate on legitimate defence
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ROME — Italian opposition politicians from the far right populist parties and other conservative forces on Sunday demanded a new law quickly on legitimate defence to protect law-abiding citizens.
The debate was fueled after a restaurant owner was put under investigation for allegedly fatally shooting a thief in the back during a middle-of-the-night break-in at the eatery.
The owner, Mario Cattaneo, 67, and his family live above the restaurant in Gugnano, near Lodi, northern Italy.
When noise awakened the family early Friday, the restaurateur grabbed a loaded hunting rifle and, according to some accounts given by the man and his adult son, fired toward a courtyard through a rear-entrance barricade erected by the thieves. In other Italian media accounts, the owner was quoted as saying the rifle fired accidentally when the thieves yanked the barrel of the rifle and he fell. In still another version, the Italian news agency ANSA on Sunday quoted Cattaneo as saying one of the thieves grabbed his arm and tried to pull away the rifle.
