Emanuele Pozzolo, a member of Giorgia Meloni’s far-right populist party, denied firing the shot that injured a man attending a party in northern Italy.
advertisementAn Italian lawmaker is currently under investigation after he brought a loaded gun to a New Year’s Eve party in the northern Italian town of Rosazza and opened fire, wounding a 31-year-old man.
Emanuele Pozzolo, Member of the Prime Minister Giorgia MeloniThe Italian Brotherhood Party admitted to bringing in the .22 caliber mini-revolver (North American Arms LR22) that fired the gun, but denied firing the gun, saying someone else must have obtained the gun. did.
Mr. Pozzolo, 38, claimed that the same man who wounded him fired the gun, and that he picked it up from the floor after accidentally dropping it. However, Italian media reported that if things had happened the way Pozzolo described it, it would have been difficult for the man to shoot himself in the back of the thigh.
Witnesses told Italian news media, including La Repubblica, that the congressman was “allegro” (an Italian word meaning happy, but usually used to mean “tipsy”). He appeared to be in the car and was showing a gun to attendees at the party. One witness told authorities that Pozzolo had a gun at the time of the shooting, an incriminating statement that investigators will consider.
Witnesses said several families, including children, were at the party.
The injured man, Luca Campana, was treated in hospital and given a 10-day recovery period, although his condition is not serious. He has not yet sued anyone, including Pozzolo, for the damage he suffered. Campana is the son-in-law of Andrea del Mastro’s security team member. Del Mastro is a junior justice minister and a member of the Italian Brothers.
The Italian lawmaker, who had previously declared himself a pro-gun activist, had a regular firearms license, the only legal way for anyone in Italy to own a firearm. This same license was revoked after the New Year’s Eve accident.
Italy has strong gun laws for civilians, but Mr. Pozzolo regularly declares that he supports the right of citizens to bear arms for self-defense. During the COVID-19 pandemic, controversial lawmakers have often opposed vaccination and declared themselves non-vaxxers, or anti-vaxxers.
He was elected to parliament in 2022, at the same time his political party, the Italian Brothers, won the general election.
Immediately after the incident, Pozzolo refused to be tested for traces of gunpowder on his hands and clothing. Six hours after the incident, he agreed to undergo a hand search, but refused to release his clothing to authorities and asked for parliamentary immunity.
The case risks becoming politically charged, with centre-left opposition parties pointing to Pozzolo as an example of someone within Meloni’s ruling party and calling for action against the lawmaker. Meanwhile, the prime minister appears to be furious over the incident.
“There are people here who do not understand their role,” Meloni said, according to Corriere newspaper. “Some members of Congress and the Senate think they’re on vacation,” he added. “And they are damaging and make us look untrustworthy.”
The Prime Minister also condemned Mr Pozzolo’s “stupidity” in bringing a gun to a New Year’s Eve party.