Monreale shooting, confessed perpetrator in prison in Palermo: the other perpetrator and the 2 pistols are sought

Immediately after the massacre of the young men of Monreale (Palermo), Calvaruso disposed of his mobile phone. This was revealed in the arrest warrant issued by the Palermo Public Prosecutor's Office. He made the mobile phone disappear 'as it probably contained elements that could have compromised his position, in case it came into the possession of the judicial authorities'.

The weapon used on the night between Saturday and Sunday in the shooting that left three people, all in their twenties, dead has not yet been found. It is a semi-automatic weapon. The 19-year-old boy from Zen who was arrested during the night has not told investigators where he hid the gun. But the weapons used would have been at least two. Therefore, a second semi-automatic pistol is also sought. At least 20 shots were fired, as the prosecutor also wrote in the arrest warrant.

"The self-accusatory statements made by the suspect appear to be fully corroborated by the content of the video-surveillance footage taken from the shops located in the area adjacent to the area where the events took place".

The young man said that in the course of the altercation 'which gave rise to the shooting' he 'had lost his glasses, in the area where the events took place'.

And it was there that the carabinieri found the glasses 'perfectly matching those worn and used by Calvaruso as shown in a photograph extrapolated from social media'.

For the prosecutor, 'an individualising objective element that allows the suspect's presence at the scene to be reasonably established'.

Despite the arrest of 19-year-old Palermo-born Salvatore Calvaruso, accused of taking part in the massacre of young people in Monreale (Palermo), the Palermo Public Prosecutor's Office's investigation is not stopping. The magistrates, led by prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia, are hunting for Calvaruso's accomplices. They are at least three or four boys who allegedly participated in the shooting. As stated in the arrest warrant issued by prosecutor Felice De Benedittis, at least twenty shots were fired on the night between Saturday and Sunday, in front of the 365 bar in Monreale, a stone's throw from the Cathedral.

Carabinieri and police are combing the Zen district and the Borgo Nuovo district in Palermo after Saturday night's shooting in a square in Monreale. Investigations and searches are under way in several houses and warehouses to trace the accomplices and look for the weapons used to kill three young men and wound two others near the 365 pub in Via Benedetto D'Acquisto in Monreale.

Monreale è alle porte di Palermo

Il centro di Monreale è a 8 km del centro di Palermo. Nel riquadro in alto il quartiere Zen (acronimo di Zona espansione nord; nome ufficiale: San Filippo Neri)

da Google Maps

The Carabinieri are also looking for weapons in Monreale.

The guns that were fired may have been abandoned during the escape by the protagonists of the shooting.

First night in prison for Salvatore Calvaruso, the 19-year-old Palermo man arrested in the night, after a day of interrogations, for the shooting in the centre of Monreale. The arrest warrant was issued late yesterday evening by the Palermo Public Prosecutor's Office.

Calvaruso had presented himself at the barracks yesterday morning saying that his scooter had been stolen. According to the Palermo Public Prosecutor's Office, this was a move to divert the investigation.

The charges are massacre, unlawful carrying and illegal possession of a firearm.

Calvaruso is detained in the Pagliarelli prison in Palermo.

A friend of Salvatore Calvaruso helped the Carabinieri in identifying the young man. As the prosecutor wrote in the arrest warrant, 'of absolute relevance are the statements of another witness'. The boy told investigators that he had lent his scooter to Calvaruso on Saturday night. 'At 1.30 a.m. he showed up at my house saying that I had to report the theft of the motorbike as he had made a mess', 'shooting and killing two people'.

One of the two wounded in the shootout between Saturday and Sunday in the centre of Monreale was sitting with his girlfriend at the bar and is unconnected to the brawl that broke out between young people from Monreale and those from Zen.

He is 33-year-old Nicolo Cangemi. When he saw the young man shot, he tried to disarm him without succeeding and was wounded in the leg. The other wounded man was saved by a miracle.

A 16-year-old boy was injured in the back of the head but only grazed. He is out of danger.

- "Once again, an act of brutal violence. Gunshots fired by thugs who are tragic expressions of the degradation of our suburbs have claimed victims in Monreale. There can no longer be free zones in our country, especially where urban decay becomes a breeding ground for malfeasance and death. In too many areas in Palermo lawlessness reigns, fuelled by a subculture of anti-State and contempt for the law'.

This was stated in a note by the regional secretariat of the Siap (Italian union of police officers).

'You don't turn the sun off if you shoot it'. A white banner with this phrase appeared on a balcony in the square above 365, a pub in Monreale (Palermo) in front of which on the night between Saturday and Sunday the shooting that killed three young men and wounded two others took place.

The banner is signed by the 'Ultras Pioppo', a suburb of the Norman town in the province of Palermo, and is dedicated to Andrea Miceli, one of the three victims. The boy, who was 26 years old, played as a striker in Real Pioppo, a football team that plays in the third regional category.

There will be mourning in Monreale (Palermo) 'until the day of the funerals' of the three victims of the shooting. This was reiterated this morning by the mayor Alberto Arcidiacono, after an extraordinary council meeting convened yesterday.

Also cancelled were all the celebrations on the occasion of the Holy Crucifix Celebrations. Only the religious procession will take place. All institutional and sports events that may have been planned during the period of mourning are cancelled. A 'Patruzzu amurusu' will therefore be carried in procession. The decision was taken after a meeting between bishop Gualtiero Isacchi, the rector of the Collegiate Church don Nicola Gaglio, and the confraternity's board of directors.

"Today is a day in which we celebrate a chronicle in which life has been denied. I believe today's theme is to offer opportunities and occupy, in a healthy way, spaces both in the territories and in people's consciences. When people feel abandoned, or at least think they are, then the bestial side of the human being takes the space.

"The important thing is not to look at these phenomena from afar and not to limit oneself to indignation or an assessment that might even seem cold and decontextualised. In the face of these facts one must immerse oneself in this lost humanity'. Thus the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, speaking about the massacre, yesterday in Monreale, on the sidelines of the presentation event of the Palermo Network hub, inaugurated inside the Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, a residential district.

You flew away too soon, but you will remain forever in our hearts and in the hearts of those who loved you. Surrounded by the love that will never cease to embrace you Salvatore, Massimo and Andrea'.

This is one of the messages hanging in the planters where the bullet holes are clearly visible in Via Benedetto D'Acquisto in Monreale near the pub where the shooting took place. On the planters are also the photos of the three young Monreale citizens Andrea Miceli, Salvatore Turdo and Massimo Pirozzo.