Naples, this is how 15-year-old Emanuele Tufano was killed

Naples – The mad armed stampede that crossed the streets between Sanità and Piazza Mercato in Naples on the night of October 24th lasted just 42 seconds, culminating in the death of 15-year-old Emanuele Tufano.

An urban war dynamic, documented by cameras and reconstructed by investigators from the Flying Squad and the Scientific Police, with the support of wiretaps and testimonies.

Twelve youths, distributed across six scooters , departed from Via Fontanelle and headed for Piazza Mercato . Unaware of the presence of a rival group behind them, they were chased along Via Antonietta De Pace to Via Carminiello al Mercato, where the firefight took place . Five pistols were used, and dozens of shell casings were found.

Tufano, riding the second-to-last scooter in the Sanità group, was struck head-on by a bullet, causing him to fall and die. The minor passenger , MV, was also injured, struck in the arm.

The footage shows the group of scooters opening fire as they speed by: the passengers, with their arms outstretched, fire wildly . Tufano loses control of the vehicle and falls, also hitting the last scooter. The two survivors flee on foot and are then picked up by a Mercedes driven by an accomplice . A third young man recovers the scooter and follows the car.

The group in Piazza Mercato was made up of only 4 young people

The rival group, the Mercato group, consisted of four young men on two scooters : among them was FA, a minor, who admitted to shooting while hiding behind a dumpster. Forensic investigators found shell casings compatible with his weapon and those used by his accomplices.

After the collision, the six scooters belonging to the Sanità group dispersed between Forcella and Via dei Vergini . The investigation, supported by video footage and wiretaps, led to the identification of many of the participants, all very young, some even minors. Among them were the adults from the Sanità neighborhood's group of young Camorristi, arrested yesterday by order of the investigating judge, Alessandra Cesare, of the 32nd section of the Naples Court.

They are Francesco Auricchio , 20 years old; Cristian Scarallo , 19 years old, Mattia Buonafine , 20 years old; Raffaele Criscuolo , 19 years old; Simone Gioffredo , 19 years old; Vincenzo Zerobio , 20 years old; Francesco Esposito, 19 years old, known as pezzettino, and Gennaro De Martino , from the Mercato district group, who is already almost 27 years old.

Among those under investigation is 20-year-old Emanuele Durante, killed by the Sequino clan from the Sanità district last March in revenge for that shooting and the death of Emanuele Tufano. Finally, there are three minors from the Mercato district gang and three others from the Sanità district.

The Scientific Police have ascertained that the bullets came from at least five different pistols. The fatal shot that hit Tufano occurred in the final part of Via Carminiello al Mercato.

While Tufano's body and his scooter lay on the asphalt, the minor who was injured as well as another minor who fell with the scooter fled on foot, being later rescued by a Mercedes driven by RA. The fallen minor, however, recovered his scooter and followed the car.

The escape after the shooting

CCTV footage captured the escape of the other four scooters from the Sanità group, which were ahead of Tufano and NG, and which fled toward Piazza Calenda in the direction of Forcella. Investigators were able to identify the passengers of these vehicles: Giuseppe Auricchio with Cristian Scarallo, Emanuele Durante with Mattia Buonafine, Raffaele Criscuolo with the minor FPF, and Vincenzo Zerobio with Francesco Esposito.

The footage shows how these scooters, having reached Corso Umberto, turned around to take Via Egiziaca in Forcella, then reached Via Duomo, Via Foria and Via dei Vergini, finally returning to the starting point in Via Fontanelle (except for Zerobio and Esposito's scooter, which headed towards Via dei Cristallini).

The Mercato group, composed of four people on two scooters, had stopped at the intersection of via Antonietta de Pace and via Bartolomeo Chioccarelli. the minor AP, riding the first scooter with FA, also a minor, as a passenger, and Gennaro De Martino, who was riding the second with GM on the saddle, had seen their pursuers.

The first two got off the vehicle and moved on foot, while GM and De Martino remained on the scooter. The group reunited in Piazza Mercato, and then disappeared without a trace.

The detailed reconstruction of the events, supported by numerous images and videos analyzed by the judicial police, reveals how the armed clash began in via Antonietta de Pace, about 150 meters from Piazza Mercato, where numerous shell casings were found near a dumpster.

The frames from the surveillance cameras and the videos attached to the report show how the chase and the firefight took place in just 42 seconds. The footage from nearby shops immortalizes the rapid passage of the six scooters of the Sanità group, followed by the two from the Mercato group and a third scooter not involved.

A crucial element emerges from the audio recorded by a camera in a garage on Via Bartolomeo Chioccarelli, where you can clearly hear a rapid sequence of gunshots, screams and the voice of someone urging to “take the vehicle”, a dramatic testimony of the death of Emanuele Tufano.

The subsequent videos immortalize the procession of Sanità scooters, with some passengers appearing with their arms stretched out behind them, as if they were pointing a gun. The passenger of the third scooter, the minor FPF, can be clearly seen firing two shots. The images also show the impact of Tufano's scooter against a parked vehicle and its subsequent fall, which also caused the fall of the last scooter driven by NG. Tufano's loss of balance, in the absence of obstacles on the road, appears reasonably connected to the fatal shot he received.

In addition to the images there is also a witness

The video recordings confirm the escape of MV and NG, rescued shortly after by a car, and the return of G. to recover his scooter. The other four scooters of the Sanità group disappeared towards Forcella, continuing to shoot, as confirmed by the testimony of a passerby of North African nationality who witnessed the final stages of the clash. The Mercato group, on the other hand, had stopped in via Antonietta de Pace, with P. and A. getting off the vehicle, as confirmed by A. himself during questioning, admitting to having shot at the rival group after taking cover behind a dumpster.

The discovery of 6,35 caliber cartridges compatible with A.'s weapon, found both near the dumpster and in the vicinity of the place where Tufano fell, suggests that the other members of the Mercato group, M. and Gennaro De Martino, also opened fire on their opponents.

The wiretaps contained in the precautionary warrant against the alleged killer ( Alexandr Babaylan ) and the alleged instigator ( Salvatore Pellecchia, known as Dudù) of Emanuele Durante's murder, instead identify the person who mistakenly fired the fatal shots at Emanuele Tufano and his underage friend. But there is no evidence.

 But the one who paid with his life was Emanuele Durante, indicated as a presumed “traitor” in the eyes of the Sequino clan.

(pictured from left: the victim Emanuele Tufano, Mattia Buonafine, Giuseppe Auricchio, Simone Gioffredo, Cristian Scarallo, Francesco Esposito and Gennaro De Martino, the only member of the group in Piazza Mercato)