(ANSA) - Milan, October 1 - A man armed with a gun was
scared off Thursday night by the police bodyguard of
conservative newspaper editor Maurizio Belpietro.
After escorting Belpietro home, the agent spotted the man
on the stairs in a condominium in central Milan, police said.
The man pointed the gun at the bodyguard, who ducked behind
a pillar and fired three warning shots.
The man ran off.
No traces of blood were found at the scene. Belpietro is the editor of Libero, a paper considered friendly to Italian centre-right Premier Silvio Berlusconi. Libero has been one of two dailies waging a campaign against House Speaker Gianfranco Fini, who split with Berlusconi in July and formed his own group. "I don't know what to say, the general feeling is that the man was waiting for me to get home," Belpietro told ANSA. "If my chief bodyguard had taken the lift rather than the stairs I don't know what would have happened". "My bodyguard took me up to the entrance to my flat, as usual," said Belpietro, who has been under police escort for eight years after receiving threats. "We said goodnight and he told me that, rather than taking the lift as usual, he'd rather take the stairs so he could smoke a cigarette.
"On the flight between the fifth and fourth floors he appears to have come across this person who, its seems, was wearing a shirt similar to those worn by Finance Guards, but over training suit bottoms. "The man pointed the gun at the policemen, but it appears to have jammed.
My bodyguard fired some rounds and the unknown man ran away. "If they had knocked on my door I don't know what would have happened". On morning TV, Belpietro went on to ask: "In this country, is it still possible to air certain opinions without suffering fear and threats?" He revealed that he was one of the few media persons under police escort, along with pro-Berlusconi TV man Emilio Fede and the other editor who has been campaigning against Fini, Vittorio Feltri. "We are all conservatives, which is no coincidence," he said. Belpietro received bipartisan messages of support on Friday.
The man ran off.
No traces of blood were found at the scene. Belpietro is the editor of Libero, a paper considered friendly to Italian centre-right Premier Silvio Berlusconi. Libero has been one of two dailies waging a campaign against House Speaker Gianfranco Fini, who split with Berlusconi in July and formed his own group. "I don't know what to say, the general feeling is that the man was waiting for me to get home," Belpietro told ANSA. "If my chief bodyguard had taken the lift rather than the stairs I don't know what would have happened". "My bodyguard took me up to the entrance to my flat, as usual," said Belpietro, who has been under police escort for eight years after receiving threats. "We said goodnight and he told me that, rather than taking the lift as usual, he'd rather take the stairs so he could smoke a cigarette.
"On the flight between the fifth and fourth floors he appears to have come across this person who, its seems, was wearing a shirt similar to those worn by Finance Guards, but over training suit bottoms. "The man pointed the gun at the policemen, but it appears to have jammed.
My bodyguard fired some rounds and the unknown man ran away. "If they had knocked on my door I don't know what would have happened". On morning TV, Belpietro went on to ask: "In this country, is it still possible to air certain opinions without suffering fear and threats?" He revealed that he was one of the few media persons under police escort, along with pro-Berlusconi TV man Emilio Fede and the other editor who has been campaigning against Fini, Vittorio Feltri. "We are all conservatives, which is no coincidence," he said. Belpietro received bipartisan messages of support on Friday.
