Naples – Shots fired in broad daylight among tourists strolling along the Mergellina waterfront, causing panic to spread quickly through one of the city's busiest areas. Months after that Sunday in late March, the first conviction has been filed for the shooting that on March 30th transformed the Diaz roundabout into a theater of terror.
Preliminary Investigating Judge Fabrizio Finamore sentenced Angelo Bottino to ten years in prison for attempted double murder. The 34-year-old from Melito, represented by lawyers Domenico Dello Iacono and Mirella Baldascino, had chosen to be tried under a summary trial.
A sentence less than the fifteen years requested by the Prosecutor's Office, which had requested a more severe sentence given the seriousness of the facts and the context in which they occurred.
According to the prosecution's reconstruction, Bottino opened fire on two carnies, Vincenzo Papa and Vincenzo Rapuano, guilty – he claimed – of offending him in front of his four minor children and other people present.
A sudden and disproportionate reaction: three gunshots fired wildly in a crowded area, with consequences that could have been even more serious. Papa, 44, was grazed in the arm; Rapuano was hit in the leg.
The position of the defendant's wife, currently at large and under investigation for aiding and abetting, remains under investigation. According to the Prosecutor's Office, she was the one who stored the weapon before and after the raid. This is a version that Bottino attempted to deny during the trial, taking sole responsibility for what happened.
The ruling closes the first judicial chapter in a case that has profoundly affected public opinion, refocusing attention on the risks associated with armed violence in urban and tourist contexts.
The defense claimed the shooting was a verbal insult, but the justice system deemed it a serious crime against life, committed before the eyes of unsuspecting families and passersby.
Changes and revisions to this article
- Article updated on 20/12/2025 at 12:28 PM - Content typo corrected
- Article updated on 20/12/2025 at 12:28 PM - Title typo corrected
- Article updated on 20/12/2025 at 12:30 PM - Title typo corrected
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Comments (1)
This sentence seems a bit lenient given the events that occurred, given the injuries and widespread panic. Violence should never be a response to insults, but there are many things to consider.