A 63-year-old policeman, Giampiero Gualandi, killed a 33-year-old colleague in Anzola dell'Emilia, in the province of Bologna, at the city's municipal police headquarters around 5:30 p.m., shooting her with his service pistol.
The victim's name was Sofia Stefani and she was employed in the Sala Bolognese garrison. While Gualandi had returned to service in Anzola and in the past had held the post of local police commander of the Intermunicipal Union of Water Lands.
He reported to the Carabinieri in Bologna that "the bullet was accidentally fired during the cleaning operations of the service weapon". This is a circumstance that investigators are verifying. The passionate motive is not excluded.
One of the hypotheses being examined by the investigators is that the origin of the event could also be the end of a romantic relationship between the victim and the killer.
"I am truly heartbroken and shocked that something like this can happen in our City Hall, which is very attentive and always on the front line against violence against women. We are close to the family of this girl," declared the mayor of Anzola Bolognese, Giampiero Veronesi.