Pomigliano, Italy: A restaurant was broken into and its cash register stolen on Christmas Eve.

The awakening of Santo Stefano in Pomigliano d'Arco was marked by bitterness over yet another episode of crime damaging the local productive fabric.

It was 4:47 a.m. last night when four hooded bandits attacked a restaurant on Via Roma. Acting extremely quickly, the criminals forced the electric lock and smashed the glass entrance to steal the self-service checkout, quickly fleeing.

The episode prompted the incumbents, exhausted by chronic insecurity, to turn directly to the Green-Left Alliance MP Francesco Emilio Borrelli.

"I've invested years of sacrifice in this business to provide a future for my family," explains the owner, recalling that just a month ago, he suffered an attempted car theft right in front of the shop. The real risk, common to many small businesses in the area, is permanent closure: without adequate protection, the damage from a break-in becomes unbearable.

The Via Roma incident, unfortunately, is not an isolated one, but rather part of a wave of violence that has shaken the city during the holidays. Just a few hours earlier, on Christmas Eve afternoon, a child and a 47-year-old man were injured in the city center by stray bullets. This coincidence of events describes a social and security emergency that has spiraled out of control.

"We cannot tolerate free zones where criminals reign supreme," stated Francesco Emilio Borrelli. The MP called for drastic measures and clear penalties to combat what he called an "open-air Wild West." According to the MP, the widespread sense of impunity is transforming the streets of Campania into places where citizens and businesses live in a constant state of siege.