Bomb at Italian school kills teenager, wounds seven

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

By Elisa Forte and Daniele Mari

BRINDISI, Italy | Sat May 19, 2012 9:27am EDT

(Reuters) - A bomb exploded in front of a girls' school in southern Italy on Saturday, killing a 16-year-old girl and wounding seven others, suspicion quickly falling on the local Mafia.

The explosion, near the entrance of a school named after the wife of murdered anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, occurred as girls were arriving for the start of the school day, which in Italy includes Saturdays.

Authorities said at least two gas canisters appeared to have been placed in or near rubbish containers at the school, which local media said was located near the main court in Brindisi, a port city on the "heel" of the Italian peninsula.

The general director of the Perrino hospital in Brindisi, Paola Ciannamea, told local television that one girl was stable after surgery but in very serious condition, and at least six others were being treated for burns that were not life threatening.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/19/us-italy-bomb-idUSBRE84I04K20120519

[Eugene]

1. Lone bomber, not mafia, sought for Italy school attack

Source: Reuters

Lone bomber, not mafia, sought for Italy school attack

By James Mackenzie

BRINDISI | Sun May 20, 2012 12:09pm EDT

(Reuters) - A bomb attack which killed a teenage girl and wounded 10 other people in the southern Italian town of Brindisi was probably done by an individual operating alone, a senior official said on Sunday, playing down initial suspicions of mafia involvement.

Saturday's attack on the Francesca Morvillo Falcone school, a vocational training institute named after the wife of a famed anti-mafia judge, horrified Italy and sparked speculation it was the work of southern Italy's organized crime gangs.

However, the Brindisi chief prosecutor in charge of the investigation, said it now appeared unlikely that either the Sicilian Mafia or the local version, known as the United Sacred Crown, was behind the attack.

"The most probable hypothesis is that it was an isolated act," Marco Dinapoli told reporters at a news conference held meters away from where the attack took place.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/20/us-italy-bomb-idUSBRE84I04K20120520

[Eugene]

2. Man confesses to Italy school bombing: police

Source: Reuters

Man confesses to Italy school bombing: police

ROME | Thu Jun 7, 2012 8:13am EDT

(Reuters) - A 68-year-old man has confessed to last month's bombing in front of a southern Italian school that killed a 16-year-old girl and wounded 10 others, but his motive is unclear and investigations are ongoing, police said on Thursday.

Suspect Giovanni Vantaggiato confessed to having "manufactured, put in place and detonated the bomb" after he was arrested and interrogated for several hours in the southern city of Lecce, prosecutor Cataldo Motta told a news conference.

But Vantaggiato refused to explain his motive, making only a vague reference to economic reasons, Motta said.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/07/us-italy-bomb-idUSBRE8560MH20120607

[Blue_Tires]

3. Maybe a mafia freelancer?

It's not like he'd admit he was working for them, anyway...