In the middle of the busy Ferragosto weekend, the vacation idyll on the island of Ischia was shaken by a brutal act of bloodshed. In the municipality of Forio, a 69-year-old man shot two people and critically injured his ex-wife early on Saturday evening. The perpetrator then turned the gun on himself and later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
Bloody relationship on the open street
According to initial findings by the Carabinieri, it was a tragedy in a relationship. The perpetrator, Antonio Luongo, shot his 48-year-old new partner and the 63-year-old Ukrainian mother of his 42-year-old ex-wife at around 6:30 pm. The bodies of the two victims were found on a street in the Cuotto district. The perpetrator then pursued his ex-wife, shot her and seriously injured her. She is currently being treated in a critical condition at Rizzoli Hospital on Ischia.
The island is in shock - eyewitnesses report panic.
The crime, which lasted just a few minutes, caused pure horror. "The man fired a lot of shots," an eyewitness told the media. Guests at a nearby bar barricaded themselves in fear, while traffic in the area came to a standstill. The Carabinieri of Ischia have started an investigation to reconstruct the exact course of events. Politicians and residents were stunned by the extent of the violence.
