Domenico Scarcella is 85 years old and a retired sergeant of the Guardia di Finanza. In Longuelo, a neighborhood of Bergamo, on Saturday 27 April two robbers of Albanian citizenship, aged 26 and 27, entered his house. He was in bed, his wife was reading in another room. He says he fired a shot with his gun to make them run away. They are in prison for aggravated robbery. One of them was grazed in the neck. He legally holds a .38 caliber revolver. He keeps it under his pillow. «They were about 80 centimeters apart. I shot high up”, he tells Corriere della Sera, indicating the mark left by the bullet near the ceiling. Even though I’m old, I aim well, I’ve done a job where you have to know how to shoot. If I wanted to hurt them at this distance… I defended myself, that’s all. There’s nothing heroic about it.”
Legitimate defense
His version is being examined by investigators. Who must evaluate self-defense. Meanwhile the gun was taken away from him. I was sleeping soundly when two masked men wearing balaclavas and dressed in black woke me up. It was dark, someone was holding something in his hand. I don’t know what, but definitely a weapon. It could have been a crowbar. And they had already made a mess of the room, opening the drawers where I keep my checks. At first I thought it was a joke.” They already had the purse in their hands: «I told them: “The money (500 euros, in addition to the documents, ed.) is there, what more do you want?” But they continued to insist and push me. Then I put my hand under the pillow and shot. I didn’t give him time to react; as soon as I shot, they ran away.”
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Scarcella says he has also suffered other robberies: «And I have been threatened with death several times for my work; in the past I also arrested a former Red Brigade member. But in our work we are always subject to threats. In this case I defended myself, my family and my property. It bothers me that someone says I have a gun under my pillow because I’m a criminal. A weapon should be used in extreme cases and certainly not to offend. But I defended myself. Many other people are unable to do it out of fear or other reasons.” And he says that they are experiences that leave their mark: «I asked myself: “How would I react with my grandson?” Would I have shot with him nearby?”. He would have been terrified. And I thought of my wife: if she had been downstairs and not on the first floor, they would have massacred her. They were ferocious.”
