Gabriele Sandri Tribute

A police officer accidentally shot and killed a Lazio soccer fan Sunday while trying to quell a clash with Juventus supporters at a highway rest stop in Tuscany, a police chief said. Arezzo police chief Vincenzo Giacobbe called the shooting "a tragic error."

"Our officer had intervened to avert that scuffle, between two small groups of people who weren't (yet) identified as fans, from degenerating," Giacobbe said in a statement carried by the Italian news agency ANSA. "I express deep sorrow and sincere condolences to the family of the victim."

Gabriele Sandri, a 26-year-old disc jockey from Rome, was hit in the neck by a bullet while in a car at the rest area along the A1Autostrada highway near the town of Arezzo, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Rome. The fans were heading to Lazio's match at Inter Milan.

Arezzo police, reading a statement, said two patrol cars which had stopped on the opposite side of the highway for an unrelated check of vehicles turned on their sirens when they "heard yelling, screaming" and realized the occupants of three cars in the rest area were fighting.

"They turned on their sirens," but the fan clash continued, the police said. "One of the (officers) decided to fire two shots in the air to try to intimidate them.

"At that point the cars moved" to return to the highway, the police said. One of the vehicles "with five occupants, took a shot, which hit the young man in the neck," the statement said.

The car drove a few kilometers (miles) to the nearest exit and asked for help, but the fan had been mortally shot, and an ambulance crew failed to revive him, the police said.

They described the police officer who fired the shots as a veteran but didn't provide the officer's name, and, adding that the case was under investigation, refused to answer questions.

Sandri's brother, Cristiano Sandri, gestured angrily as he yelled "they killed my brother." Flanking him as he got into a car was a man identified by state TV as family lawyer Luigi Conti, who shouted that the shooting amounted to "first-degree murder."

Sky quoted witnesses as saying the other two cars were vans carrying Juventus fans from Naples to a match in Parma.

The Italian soccer federation postponed the Inter-Lazio game to a date to be determined. Sunday afternoon's other games started 10 minutes late, with players and referees wearing black armbands. After a meeting with national security officials, AS Roma's late match against visiting Cagliari was postponed, Sky reported.

The death prompted clashes between fans and police in Bergamo, where AC Milan was playing Atalanta. The match was suspended after seven minutes when Atalanta fans tried to break through a barrier and storm their way onto the field. It will be rescheduled at a date to be determined.

Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni went over to try to calm the fans but to no avail, and both teams headed into the locker room.

Clashes between rival fans at rest stops are common in Italy.

Italian Premier Romano Prodi was attending Mass when he was informed about the death. He described the fan violence as "very worrisome" and later issued a statement saying he has ordered that the shooting be thoroughly investigated.

Last season, a policeman was killed in riots following a game between Palermo and Catania in Sicily. Under new anti-violence measures this season, some fans have been barred from traveling to games.

In 2004, the derby between AS Roma and Lazio was suspended three minutes into the second half when a false rumor spread through the stadium that police had killed a boy outside the stadium, sparking riots.

ROMA
L’agente della polizia stradale, Luigi Spaccatorella, che ieri ha sparato e ucciso il tifoso della Lazio Gabriele Sandri, è indagato per omicidio colposo, e, nel frattempo, è stato destinato ad attività interna. «Il magistrato, nel nominare il consulente tecnico per gli accertamenti irripetibili durante l’autopsia - rende noto la questura di Arezzo - ha notificato all’operatore di polizia il reato di omicidio colposo. È questa una prima conclusione giudiziaria a seguito della ricostruzione dei fatti iniziata nel pomeriggio di ieri e protrattasi fino a tarda notte».

Domani Amato riferirà in Aula
Intanto domani il ministro dell’Interno Giuliano Amato «sarà in Aula a riferire sul caso della morte del giovane tifoso. Una presenza importante per la gravità dei fatti che hanno turbato l’ordine pubblico». Lo afferma Gianclaudio Bressa, vicepresidente del Pd-L’Ulivo della Camera. «Ieri un bastardo ha ucciso mio figlio, sia maledetto per sempre»: è il testo, vergato su un foglio dal padre del tifoso ucciso dal colpo di pistola sparato da un agente della Polstrada ad Arezzo, che appare stamane sulla serranda del negozio di abbigliamento della famiglia Sandri, alla Balduina, chiuso per lutto.

Il ricordo degli amici
Rabbia e dolore tra gli amici di Gabriele. «Nel cielo biancazzurro brilla una stella. Gabriele non dimenticheremo. Sarai nei nostri cuori». È uno dei tanti biglietti lasciati davanti all’autogrill di Badia al Pino in provincia di Arezzo, nel punto esatto, dove ieri intorno alle 9.00, Gabriele Sandri ha perso la vita. Sciarpe di tutti i colori, che rappresentano tutte le squadre, fiori e peluche.