Suspect in courtroom shooting, who was arrested after fleeing Milan’s Palace of Justice on motorbike, says ‘I wanted to take revenge on those who ruined me’

A man on trial for fraudulent bankruptcy opened fire in a Milan courthouse, killing his lawyer, a co-defendant and a judge before escaping amid the chaos.

The suspect, 57-year-old Claudio Giardiello, was arrested in a town nearly 16 miles away after dodging police who were combing the Palace of Justice and fleeing on a motorcycle.

Soon after his capture, the daily newspaper La Repubblica reported that he told police: “I wanted to take revenge on those who ruined me.”

The Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, promised a thorough investigation into how Giardello was able to get a gun past tight security at the court, where metal detectors are used for visitors but not staff, magistrates and accredited lawyers.

“Our commitment is that this never happens again, and that those responsible pay,” Renzi said.

The dead were named as Fernando Ciampi, a judge who worked in the civil section of the bankruptcy court, Lorenzo Alberto Claris Appiani, a lawyer, and Giardiello’s co-defendant, Giorgio Erba.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Women rush out of the court building in Milan. Photograph: Luca Bruno/AP

Itay’s Ansa news agency reported that a fourth person died but there were no signs of a bullet wound, leading to speculation the victim may have had a heart attack during the incident.

Another co-defendant and relative of Giardiello, Davide Limongelli, was reportedly injured.

Italian media said Giardello had opened fire on the third floor of the Palace of Justice, where he was on trial over the collapse of a property business of which he was the majority shareholder. The suspect’s ex-wife said she was shocked by the attack, according to La Stampa. “I never would have thought he was so desperate,” she said.



A fight reportedly began in the courtroom during the cross-examination of a witness, at which point Giardiello is alleged to have pulled out a gun and opened fire, killing Appiani and seriously wounding Erba, who later died of his injuries.

As shots rang out, panicked staff barricaded themselves inside their offices and took cover under their desks while police hunted for the gunman, who moved unimpeded from one floor to the next.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Claudio Giardiello, who is alleged to have opened fire in Milan’s courthouse, killing his lawyer, a co-defendant and a judge. Prosecutors said the suspect fired at least 13 shots and had two spare cartridges for his gun. Photograph: AP

Edmondo Bruti Liberati, a prosecutor, said that after the gunman fired on his lawyer and co-defendant, he “walked through the building, going down a floor, and killed the judge”.

He told the Associated Press that it was not clear whether there was any relationship between the gunman and the judge.

“There was a lot of panic at the beginning when people came running toward us saying there was a person with a pistol who had been shooting,” said Mirko Ricetti, a lawyer who said he locked himself in a first-floor courtroom after hearing a shot.



Another lawyer, Marcello Ilia, told Agence France-Presse outside the court: “All of a sudden we heard at least three or four shots. We tried to find out what was going on. There were suddenly lots of police officers who told us not to leave the room, they shut us in.

“After a few minutes we came out. They told us someone in a suit and tie was armed and at large in the court.”

La Repubblica said the gunman remained hidden in the courthouse for more than an hour as armed police sealed off all exits and scoured the building. He managed to leave the building and escape by motorcycle, but was caught about 30 minutes later.

Italy’s interior minister, Angelino Alfano, said the suspect was arrested by carabinieri in Vimercate, near Monza, about 16 miles from the scene of the shooting. An ambulance with escort was later seen leaving the Vimercate police station, but it was not clear if the gunman was inside.

Gherardo Colombo, a judge, told journalists outside the court that he was “dazed and shocked” by the shootout. “I knew Judge Ciampi personally. It’s absurd that one can die like that, while you’re doing your job,” he said, suggesting “an anti-judiciary climate” might have been to blame.

It was a sentiment echoed by Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s new head of state, who convened an extraordinary meeting of the superior council of magistrates (CSM), a body of top judges.

“Democratic society is by its nature vulnerable,” he said. “Judges – as other people in positions of responsibility – are always on the front lines, and this makes them particularly exposed. We need to reject any efforts, however minor, to discredit them.”

Giardiello’s former lawyer Valerio Maraniello told the state broadcaster Rai that the case concerned a failed property business and that Giardiello was “very unusual” and “over the top” in his legal dealings.

Liberati said that CCTV footage had shown him entering the court and apparently showing “something, obviously an ID card”. The entrance used by Giardiello, he explained, did not have a metal detector as it was “an entrance reserved for staff, magistrates and lawyers only”.

Renzi criticised the security breach that had apparently enabled the suspect to enter the court with a gun. “The security systems of our country depend on women and men who are capable of heroism, but oversight cannot be allowed to have holes and breaches such as those which there were at the court in Milan,” he said.

“It must be established who messed up, how and why. Something did not work,” Ansa quoted him as saying.



Regional authorities were shocked that anyone had managed to get into the court building with a weapon. “It’s disturbing that just anyone can get into the Palace of Justice armed,” said the right-wing president of the Lombardy region, Roberto Maroni.

“The fact that we’re not talking about an organisation which surveyed the place first makes it even more perturbing,” he said.

The deputy interior minister, Filippo Bubbico, said an investigation would determine who was to blame for the security lapse. “There’s no doubt that this episode signals a non-functioning of the protection mechanisms, which must be employed daily and which have worked for years at the Milan tribunal,” he told Sky TG24.

Built during Italy’s Fascist era, the imposing Palace of Justice is in the historic centre of Milan, only a few streets away from the city’s cathedral and shopping district.

Security concerns are particularly high in Milan given the opening on 1 May of the World Expo. The interior minister, Alfano, was in Milan on Thursday to preside over a public security coordination meeting for Expo when the shooting happened.











