There are more and more urban guerrilla scenes that the residents of the 167 area of Barletta can do nothing but witness, helpless, every day, between panic and dismay. That of those who, outside their house, a few days ago, saw a group of boys exploding firecrackers, throwing smoke bombs, causing explosions and damaging some parked cars.
It happened in via Paolo Ricci and, in the damage assessment, we must also include those to the nearby Largo Primavera school complex, a school from which fire extinguishers were taken away and then emptied in the street. The residents of the neighborhood, unable to do much else, called the police and filmed the incident, which later went viral. When the police and carabinieri arrived, the thugs fled, leaving behind a trail of violence and confusion.
The diffusion of those videos is strengthening the daily complaints of the neighborhood committee, in the harsh notes of the spokesmen Raffaele Patella and Giuseppe Di Bari, who, with good reason, already last week spoke of a “situation out of control”.
This latest episode caused a stir in the city. The mayor, Cosimo Cannito, also intervened and, concerned «for public and private safety», informed the Prefect Rossana Riflesso and the Police Commissioner Alfredo Fabbrocini, «making the filmed testimonies available and offering maximum collaboration to identify and criminally prosecute the authors of the illicit acts as well as to obtain, all together, the best results for the protection of the interests of the community”.
But this is not enough for the residents of the 167 area, they want concrete and decisive interventions, in short they ask not to witness scenes like those anymore, not to feel in danger at home and they do so by making themselves available to do their part, through the activation of a protocol activated two years ago between the municipality and prefecture, called “Neighborhood Control”.
«It is a protocol that allows you to establish a direct and immediate connection between the neighborhood and the police», explain Di Bari and Patella. A sort of pact that makes residents vigilant and responsible.
Meanwhile, investigations are underway to identify those responsible for the acts of vandalism filmed and which have become public knowledge.
